Officer Recordings Released in Shooting Death of Longview Woman
LONGVIEW, Wa. — We now know more about what happened during an officer involved shooting in Longview, that led to a woman’s death on New Year’s Day. Officials have released some of the body camera footage that officers wore that day.
It shows a man in a home. There’s also a woman inside officer’s order the man to get out of the house.
You can hear this exchange, “Get back here. There’s a gun in my room. She’s going for it right now. Get back here right now.”
He asked them to let him talk to her. They deny his request. Then he pleads with them not to hurt her. 29-year-old Katelyn Smith comes out of the home, carrying a gun.
You can hear, “Please. Please. Please don’t hurt her. Please put your hands up. You gotta go. Drop the gun. Drop the gun. Please don’t drop the gun. Oh, my God. Just fired.” Gunshots are clearly audible.
Investigators say officers fired at Smith, killing her after she pointed a gun at them. Her gun never went off. Three officers fired 23 shots. They’re identified as Elijah Heston, Katelyn Woolcott Rose and Dylan Fletcher who provided statements that they believed Smith was an imminent, deadly threat to them.
Officers responded to the home at 2,900 Columbia Heights road after getting a call from a man who said Smith assaulted him while trying to take her own life.
