NASHVILLE, TENN. – The family of a woman who was shot by Metro police officers says that more should have been done to lessen the situation before she was shot.
Three subway police officers arrived at a home Friday night on Greer Road in Nashville to find a woman with a pick and a baseball bat. The emergency call was for a suicide bomber who wanted to be shot.
The Bodycam video of the incident was released. Warning: some may find the video below disturbing
The video shows a policeman taking the initiative to try to calm her down. He spends minutes trying to negotiate a surrender while two other policemen are on alert. Metropolitan police say that while they speak, the woman seems calm enough, without open aggression.
But then your mother arrives and tries to intervene. The police say that’s when things get worse, leaving the option of waiting until the woman gives herself up.
“Under normal circumstances, in which the mother does not intervene … this is exactly how it would have happened,” said subway police commander Scott Byrd.
Moments later, negotiations are interrupted and an officer launches the taser.
“They tried the less lethal approach initially. But the tasers didn’t work. It infuriated her,” said Chris Taylor, Metro team leader.
A little less than three seconds later, another officer fires two shots from his weapon. The woman faints.
“This is unreasonable. It was quick. They didn’t give the taser a chance to work,” said Michael Crestman, the woman’s brother.
He said he understands that his sister has put the cops in an incredibly difficult situation, but believes that they should have waited for her.
“They knew she was suicidal. She told them to come and shoot her, so they did,” said Crestman. “This should have been approached differently. I saw a little lunge, but there was a distance. It would be different if she had a gun.”
Commander Byrd says the distance between the officer and the woman armed with a large pickaxe was small. The moment she was electrocuted, she moved forward. “It’s close. When you reach someone with a long handle and the ability to reach you is threatening.”
When she stepped forward, the other officer felt he had no choice but to shoot and end the threat. The woman was hit twice with a lacerated kidney, colon and spinal cord injury.
She remains in critical condition at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. The Metropolitan Police claims to be working closely with the mayor’s office and the Mental Health Cooperative to find new and better possible responses to all mental health calls.
The officers involved remain on paid administrative leave while the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation investigates.