By Henry K. Lee
The San Francisco Chronicle
BERKELEY -- A Berkeley police officer shot and killed a woman after she allegedly confronted the officer with a knife, authorities said today.
The name of the woman wasn’t released.
The shooting happened at about 8 p.m. Saturday on the 1700 block of Ward Street in South Berkeley, said Berkeley police Sgt. Mary Kusmiss, department spokeswoman. A five-year veteran opened fire when the woman confronted the officer with a knife, Kusmiss said.
The shooting happened when officers responded a second time to the apartment complex to investigate reports of a domestic disturbance, Kusmiss said.
During the first call for police assistance at 6:40 p.m. Saturday, a caller told police that someone was breaking out windows in the area, Kusmiss said.
The officer who fired shots used deadly force in defense of himself and a second individual, said Kusmiss, who did not elaborate.
The officer, whose name wasn’t released, was placed on paid administrative leave, standard practice in officer-involved shootings, pending investigations by Berkeley police and the Alameda County district attorney’s office.
Shootings involving Berkeley police officers are relatively rare.
The last fatal officer-involved shooting happened in July 2003 when Berkeley and Oakland police shot and killed a bank robbery suspect on Haste Street near the UC Berkeley campus.
In April 2000, officers David Frankel and Glen Pon shot and killed Christopher Garcia, 23, a suspect in a jewelry store robbery.
Copyright 2008 The San Francisco Chronicle