By Police1 Staff
BARTLESVILLE, Okla. — Recently released footage shows Oklahoma officers fatally shooting a woman who shot officers with a BB gun.
KTUL reports that on Jan. 17, Bartlesville officers conducted a drug raid at a home to arrest 50-year-old Mike Livingston. When police breached the door, they ordered Livingston to get down, which he did.
But when officers stepped past him into a hallway, the suspect’s mother, 72-year-old Geraldine Townsend, shot at the officers. One officer was wounded in the thigh and another in the face.
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The officer hit in the face returned fire and hit Townsend in the chest. She later died at a hospital.
Police recently released the video of the incident, which was recorded on an officer’s cell phone since Bartlesville officers don’t have body cams, according to KOTV-DT. Captain Jay Hastings said while the video is dark and “hit or miss,” it shows how quickly police have to make a life or death decision.
“Once they get into the house and order the suspect down, the other two officers go into the hallway and they’re confronted with a gun. It all happens in a matter of seconds,” Hastings said.
The officer who fired the shot wasn’t seriously injured and remains while leave while an investigation is conducted. A district attorney will decide of the shooting was justified.