A Los Angeles police officer shot and killed a woman armed with a knife who said she was a victim of domestic violence.
Shocking images. The Los Angeles Police Department released video on Friday, December 29, of an intervention in which a 27-year-old black woman was killed by an officer.
The events took place on December 4th in the city of Lancaster, north of the City of Angels. Niani Finlayson, a 27-year-old mother, calls the police to report violence by her ex-partner.
“He doesn't want to leave my house… He doesn't want to leave me alone… I need the police immediately,” we hear in a recording quoted by the Guardian.
Knife in hand
A police team then visited the young woman's house. The operation was made public using police on-board cameras and broadcast on YouTube.
The images – explicitly – show three agents arriving at the young woman's house. She opens the door for them, armed with a knife and with her 9-year-old daughter at her side. “I'm going to stab him,” she said amid loud shouts before entering the house.
The police in turn enter the room. The little girl appears to tell them that she was “beaten” and points to a man who is at the back of the room with Niani Finlayson.
While the mother – still armed with a knife – appears to approach the man and grab his arm, an agent shoots four times, killing the young woman.
“Officers administered first aid until Los Angeles County paramedics arrived. Finlayson was taken to the hospital where she was pronounced dead,” police said.
demonstration
The man, whose identity has not been released, was arrested on charges of child abuse and assaulting a police officer but was later released pending further investigation, the Guardian reports.
In a statement released Friday, the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department said shooting officer Ty Shelton has been suspended pending an investigation.
According to several American media outlets, including public broadcaster NPR, Ty Shelton had already killed a 61-year-old black man under similar conditions during an intervention in 2020, without his act being classified as reprehensible.
A complaint has been filed
Relatives of the victim said they have filed a complaint against the Sheriff's Department and Los Angeles County.
This Wednesday, demonstrators protested in front of police headquarters. “We as Black people know how difficult it is to call 911 (editor's note),” said Waunette Cullors, director of Cancel the Contract, an anti-racist organization that advocates against police violence.
“She called and thought she would help. She thought someone would defuse the situation, but that didn't happen,” she said in comments reported by NPR.