US Cop Kills Woman Seconds after Responding to Her 911 Call, Video Shows
TEHRAN (Tasnim) - The Los Angeles sheriff’s department (LASD) released body-camera footage on Friday of an officer fatally shooting Niani Finlayson, 27, who had called 911 for help during a domestic violence incident.
The footage from the December 4 encounter showed that deputy Ty Shelton shot Finlayson four times within roughly three seconds of entering her home, The Guardian reported.
The killing in Lancaster, a city in north LA county, sparked national outrage last week, with civil rights activists questioning why deputies failed to de-escalate the conflict and instead used fatal force against a woman who had sought their assistance and was a victim of abuse.
Body-camera footage from two deputies showed that when they arrived outside the apartment, they could hear a woman screaming from inside. When Finlayson opened the door, her 9-year-old daughter was standing next to her and appeared to tell the officers that the man had hurt her – seemingly saying that he had “punched” or “pushed” her, although LASD distorted the daughter’s voice and her comments aren’t clearly discernible.
LASD said in a statement that Finalyson was later taken to a hospital, where she was pronounced dead.
This was not Shelton’s first fatal shooting. On 11 June 2020, the deputy killed Michael Thomas, 61, also while responding to a call for potential domestic violence.
Relatives of Finlayson filed a claim against LASD and LA county last week.
Finlayson’s killing was the latest in a string of incidents involving LA sheriffs in the Lancaster region using extreme force against Black women. In June, a deputy was filmed throwing a woman to the ground outside a store, and LASD released footage the following month showing a deputy punching a woman in the face as she held her newborn.
