Westbrook on police shootings: ‘Something has to change’

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Russell Westbrook is a multi-millionaire basketball player, far removed from the rough community he came from in the Los Angeles area.

When the Thunder All-Star learned about the recent police shootings of Terence Crutcher in Tulsa and Keith Scott in Charlotte, his mind went right back to his old neighborhood.

“Me growing up in the inner city and being able to see different things on a night in and day in, day out basis – it hit home for me, just being able to see the different things that’s going on globally, and giving people across the world an opportunity to see it,” Westbrook said at Thunder media day on Friday. “Now, it’s getting to a point that there’s something that needs to be changed in that aspect. I’m going to use my voice as much as possible to relay that aspect.”

Crutcher, 40, was shot Sept. 16. Police say the unarmed black man was shot by a white police officer, Betty Shelby, who has been charged with manslaughter. Tulsa is just a two-hour drive from Oklahoma City. Westbrook said the impact goes way beyond the incidents themselves.

“A lot of people don’t realize the families of all these young men,” Westbrook said. “Their mothers, brothers, sisters, uncles. I think it’s very important …

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