DETROIT (WWJ) – Detroit Police Chief James White is recommending two police officers and a supervisor who were involved in the fatal shooting of a woman having a mental health crisis last week be suspended without pay.
One of the officers was not directly involved in the shooting, according to White, who said the supervisor could be under consideration for reduction of rank. Another supervisor has been placed on administrative duty.
The Detroit Board of Police Commissioners will review the case and make a determination on discipline, White said. The chief noted they were suspended with pay on Monday, but that could be changed, depending on the board’s determination.
The discipline stems from the death of a 27-year-old schizophrenic woman who was shot a total of four times by three officers who had responded to a call from the woman’s mother last Thursday in the area of Meyers and Pilgrim on the city’s west side.
While White could not get into many details regarding the ongoing investigation and exactly what happened at the scene, he said he has “concerns with the implementation of a number of policies,” not at least some people involved should have had a better strategy.
White played audio of the 911 call, in which the mother said she had been attacked with knives and a bat, and her grandson had also been assaulted.
The caller told the dispatcher she’d previously suffered a stroke and a brain aneurysm and that she’d been hit in the head during the attack and she was worried she’d “have to shoot my own child.” She later noted the woman also had a gun.
Police arrived at the scene knowing children were in potential danger inside the home. After reportedly trying to deescalate the situation, officers apparently entered the home and the woman went for the gun. A struggle ensued and the woman was shot and killed, according to police.
White said when children are in danger, decisions to protect them are the top priority.
Stay tuned to WWJ Newsradio 950 for the latest updates on this story.
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