Arizona

Bodycam Footage Winslow Arizona shooting

• Report rights infringement
• published: 29 Jul 2016
• views: 8734

story from PINAC https://photographyisnotacrime.com/2016/07/28/body-cam-footage-released-showing-arizona-cop-shooting-and-killing-woman-holding-small-pair-of-scissors/ Video shows Native American woman carrying scissors before being shot by Arizona cop... Bodycam records the moment Arizona cop shot a Native American woman dead as she walked towards him with a pair of scissors. The video was released after an official investigation vindicated officer Austin Shipley over shooting It shows a 30-second confrontation between Shipley and Loreal Tsingine The mother-of-one's family has launched legal action over her death Concerns have previously been raised about Shipley's conduct. A Navajo woman who was shot dead by a police officer in Arizona, sparking protests, was carrying medical scissors as she approached him, body camera footage has shown. The shooting of Loreal Tsingine, 27, in March, led tribal officials to urge the US Justice Department to investigate the treatment of Native Americans who live in towns that border the reservation. Footage of the 30-second encounter in Winslow however has been made public after a ruling that officer Austin Shipley was justified in shooting her because he feared his life, and that of a colleague, were threatened. It appears to show Tsingine resisting arrest and being thrown to the ground, where her belongings spill out of her purse, including a prescription for Aripiprazole, an anti-psychotic medication. After she is thrown to the ground, she gets back up and approaches the officer with medical scissors. It is at this point that he shoots her, with his partner scrambling out of the way. The audio then kicks in, where he can heard breathing heavily, tell his partner: 'She came at me with those scissors'. He then appears to wretch. The police officer was responding to a shoplifting call when he shot Tsingine on a sidewalk close to the convenience call where the alleged theft had happened. Shipley is seen on the video trying to restrain Tsingine, and she falls to the ground. When she gets up, the video shows her walking quickly back toward Shipley with the pair of scissors in her left hand, pointed down. She seems to yell at Shipley as he raises his gun and fires five times. It is not known what was said between the two during the confrontation, as the video has no audio, City attorney Ellen Van Riper said. Maricopa County prosecutor Bill Montgomery announced on Friday that his office found no evidence of criminal conduct by Shipley in Tsingine's death. An investigation by the Arizona Department of Public Safety concluded that Shipley had told Tsingine to stop resisting, get on the ground and drop the scissors, but she refused to do so. This narrative was backed up by witnesses, the department said. The decision prompted a small protest outside the prosecutor's office earlier this week, with about 20 people chanting 'Justice for Loreal' and 'Shame on Bill Montgomery'. Another demonstration is expected on Friday. The shooting comes amid heightened tension around the country with law enforcement over police shootings. A full investigation report is expected to be released next week by officials in Winslow. The town borders the Navajo Nation about an hour east of Flagstaff and has a large Native American population. Documents previously released by Winslow officials show that two officers who trained Shipley had serious concerns about his work and that one of them recommended he should not serve the city as an officer. Tsingine had a lengthy arrest record, including an incident last year when she allegedly tried to grab an officer's gun as he tried to arrest her. Her relatives have filed a $10.5 million notice of claim against the city, saying Shipley violated Tsingine's civil rights and that Winslow was negligent in 'hiring, training, retaining, controlling and supervising' Shipley. 'Our position remains that even though (Shipley) may not be held criminally liable, it was careless for the city of Winslow to give him a gun and a badge,' said the Tsingine family's Phoenix-based attorney, Robert Pastor. The wrongful-death claim filed this month is a precursor to a lawsuit and seeks $2 million for Tsingine's husband and $8.5 million for her 8-year-old daughter. Shipley is on paid administrative leave while the Mesa Police Department conducts an internal affairs investigation.