Video shows woman running at RCMP officers with sword before being shot
Posted Sep 24, 2019 8:38 pm.
Last Updated Sep 24, 2019 8:41 pm.
STRATHCONA COUNTY (660 NEWS) — Alberta’s police watchdog is shedding more light on a deadly police shooting in Sherwood Park on Monday.
Strathcona RCMP officers were called out twice on Monday morning to the 42-year-old woman’s home, according to the Alberta Serious Incident Response Team.
Video and audio recordings of the emergency calls shed some light on the incident.
The first called was received at 3 a.m. and officers were called by the woman who complained that someone was in her back yard.
She claimed she was fearful that someone connected to her boyfriend might be on her property.
RCMP found no one in the area and determined the matter to be resolved.
On the second occasion, at around 7:25 a.m., she told the dispatcher that she was armed with a knife and a katana sword and intended to kill herself.
READ MORE: Woman dies in Strathcona County officer-involved shooting
During the call, she told the dispatcher what had been happening in her life and was despondent and distraught.
The person speaking with the woman remained calm, kept her on the line and attempted to de-escalate the situation, eventually, the woman abruptly ended the call.
When the dispatcher called back, the woman answered, screaming and hung up again when it appears she noticed officers arriving to the scene.
The first officer to arrive at the scene stayed inside her police car and tried to speak to the woman who was in her front doorway armed with a katana sword.
Investigators say the shooting was caught on dashcam video from a police cruiser and shows officers asking the woman to drop the sword she was wielding as she ran at officers.
When she got within close range of the officers, one of them fired at her. She was immediately given medical aid, however, she was pronounced dead at the hospital.
No officers were harmed in the incident.
The ASIRT investigation continues.
