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Video: Okla. police fatally shoot woman who shot officers with BB gun
Police conducted a drug raid at the home when the woman shot at officers
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.
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.
