Sheriff's office: Deputy shoots, kills woman in Aloha
Source: KATU News, Portland, Oregon
ALOHA, Ore. – A Washington County Sheriff's deputy shot and killed a woman Friday evening, according to the Washington County Sheriff's Office.
Deputies said the woman was armed with a knife.
The shooting occurred at The Patrician apartments at 18000 S.W. Shaw Street.
The sheriff's office says three deputies were at the apartment complex for a suicidal threat when the shooting happened.
...
Read more: http://www.katu.com/news/local/Woman-shot-and-wounded-in-Aloha-330486791.html
After the horrible shooting down in Roseburg yesterday, it just doesn't stop here in Oregon.
Certainly not as bad as what happened down there, but why was a 55 year old woman with just a knife that was described as a suicide threat shot three times by sheriff deputies? Another example of our law enforcement overdoing their propensity to shoot first before thinking about how to deal with certain situations? WHY was she shot, and not just apprehended if she just had a knife. Surely deputies could either taze her or use some other form of non-lethal apprehension methods instead of what were used.
And this is just a few miles from where I live! Her death just now became public news and hasn't even hit google search results yet.
Things have seemed pretty depressing here lately.
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C Moon
(13,643 posts)the other was in Los Angeles a few days ago.
Just curious: why can't these officers shoot a leg or knee?
I played football, and I know you have to focus on the mid-section for a tackle because the arms, legs and head move so much. Maybe that's it?
And I wasn't there, so perhaps both of these women were sprinting toward the officers with their knives, and they had no choice but to shoot to kill (sorry, I didn't read the complete link, so I may edit this soon); their lives are important—they have families, etc.
But I can't help but think, after seeing so many of these knives, clubs, swords, etc versus an officer with a gun, that officers are trained to kill rather than stop in these situations.
PatSeg
(53,214 posts)they love to use on people? Wouldn't that be more appropriate in a case like this than a gun?
ManiacJoe
(10,138 posts)Tasers are used against non-lethal force. Knives, like guns, are lethal force and get a lethal force response.
PatSeg
(53,214 posts)a suspect that a cop doesn't like, such as children, the handicapped, and especially old people. I think I'm more afraid of cops these days than criminals.
Response to PatSeg (Reply #24)
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cascadiance
(19,537 posts)... ("less than lethal rounds"
but many details have been left out of what happened. We still don't know yet what has happened.
I still think we are owed a better explanation of what happened. This is a case where it really would have been beneficial if someone would have taken a video of what happened, so it would be hard for them to construct a story (which we've seen happen in other cases) to have less of a finger pointed to officer behavior malfeasance if that did in fact happen.
The longer we wait for an explanation, the more concern I have that we might not ultimately get the truth. As many of us have seen not being given to us in other situations around the country too in similar fashion.
PatSeg
(53,214 posts)
Marrah_G
(28,581 posts)Sometimes they are determined and charge the police.
jtuck004
(15,882 posts)As long as we are throwing out unsupported accusations, that should be there too. Because tv makes it look like there are far more "suicide by cop" than "murder by cop".
One should take a clue from the fact that they make "reality" tv a special, not the norm.
snort
(2,334 posts)I was on Shaw earlier today. Shit.
Judi Lynn
(164,124 posts)cascadiance
(19,537 posts)
CentralMass
(16,971 posts)
Fantastic Anarchist
(7,309 posts)... the cops are pumped about shooting people. I was watching "Cops" today - a very rare thing for me to do. One of the cops expressed how he loved the "thrill of the hunt" among other things that made me wince - which isn't really easy to do.
The cop, in my opinion, wasn't ensuring that things remain peaceful. He was actively looking for trouble. I've read about, or seen in action, how cops will not use common sense actions to de-escalate situations. They are often a part of the problem, where they become just as aggressive as some of the suspects they are trying to apprehend. From the same episode, three or four officers had a man down on the ground and one of his hands behind his back for at least a good thirty seconds, and a fourth or fifth cop runs out, not to miss his opportunity, but to join in the feast, by quickly, and firmly, putting his knee into the suspects back. They were also tazing the individual, while screaming at him to put his other hand behind his back - never-mind that it was physically impossible for the man to do so, what with all the contortions that the officers were applying to the poor bastard, along with being incapacitated by the tazer.
Reminds me of the officer that shot the black man 9 or 10 while the man was running away from him, I want to say in South Carolina (there are so many that I can't keep track anymore), and then, as the man was lying motionless on the ground, the officer yelling at him to put his hands behind his back. Yes, the man was dead, yet the cop found it perfectly reasonable and rational to ask the deceased for compliance to his demands.
They just can't control themselves, and they are often not disciplined, and often rewarded to keep doing what they do.
cascadiance
(19,537 posts)... is deemed a deadly threat that 3 younger male officers can't subdue who supposedly have training and means to do so without killing her. I know that in her situation, if she was suicidal, that adds to a threat where she isn't as intimidated by lethal force threat as other people arrested are, but in a way, that plays in to the game of cops that just want to shoot someone, as they will have more of an excuse to shoot her if she "comes at them". But I still can't believe with those odds officers would have to kill her.
I have to believe that when you have three officers, there are techniques to bring a woman like that down without killing her, and if they can't do so, they are PRETTY DAMN BAD at their job, if they are truly trying to just do peace keeping and not be aggressive about trying to find an excuse to shoot someone.
What is sad is that if this sort of thing were to happen in another country where you rarely have police shootings like the U.K., a story like this would be major headlines, but this story is dwarfed by other more major shooting news, and gets quickly forgotten as do many other shooting incidents around this country. I thought at least with Roseburg, perhaps we could look at this incident and how police reacted that we might not be able to do otherwise with the awareness of gun violence in Oregon that last day or so now.
Fantastic Anarchist
(7,309 posts)I don't "get" it, either. And likely never will. I feel that the police/justice system is often just as harmful to society as those we brand criminals, who just do not have the privilege of having a badge or a judge's robe.
Some other countries have figured it out - like the Netherlands, Sweden, Norway, et. al. They seem to have it together, yet despite our "exceptionalism," we just can't solve that elusive riddle.
yuiyoshida
(45,415 posts)Just so much easier to pull out a gun, shoot them, and write the report. That is so callous but I bet they don't want to learn to subdue someone, like they did in the old days, maybe their trainer just says, forget it, "if they come at you with a knife, just kill the bastards!" I read they recently shot and killed a black man who was in a wheel chair... 
like where the hell was he supposed to go???
Fantastic Anarchist
(7,309 posts)I am "brilliantly" lazy (not to be construed as bragging, but as illustrative of my point) where I'm productive and efficient, entirely because I'm lazy. I'm innovative because I like to do things the easy way.
Yet, I'm certain that if I was to be a police officer, that I would never use 'laziness" as a rationale for murdering (let's call it for what it is) someone.
The problem, which would include laziness, is systemic, and is made up of other causes, such as personality disorders and authoritarianism - including the very compulsive need to feel superior to other people, usually in an attempt to compensate for one's own failure and self-loathing.
Enthusiast
(50,983 posts)
stage left
(3,306 posts)That was in Charleston, SC.
Fantastic Anarchist
(7,309 posts)I can't remember all of them separately anymore. I guess they just count us to have our memories blended.
SusanaMontana41
(3,233 posts)
YabaDabaNoDinoNo
(460 posts)also I have had lawyers tell me one is better off killing someone then just injuring them.
Lower payout for the dead over the injured also the dead cannot speak.
Shrike47
(6,913 posts)Don't tell me this woman wouldn't have been stopped by a shot in the knee. I won't buy it.
electricray
(432 posts)...the liability that the department takes on when a "perp" gets wounded by a cop is probably far greater than the liability they take on if the victim isn't alive to tell their story.
PatSeg
(53,214 posts)you could be right. That's truly a scary thought.
ManiacJoe
(10,138 posts)If you are not shooting to stop them, you do not fear for your life. If you don't fear for your life, you are not allowed to shot at all.
atreides1
(16,799 posts)Had a situation a few months back...officer encountered a woman who had a knife...after several warnings to her, he shot her...in her shoulder, she survived!!!
Lizzie Poppet
(10,164 posts)Under controlled conditions, it would be fairly easy for any competent shooter to hit a target the size of a leg (or even a specific part of a leg, like the knee) at the more-or-less point blank ranges at which these confrontations occur. However, doing so in a fluid, emerging situation, with the person almost certainly moving, and with the adrenaline surge of an actual violent encounter, is anything but easy. Look how many stories you read about the cops shooting at a suspect, sometimes also from very short ranges, and missing them entirely. That's not because they're incompetent with their pistols (although the average beat cop isn't an expert by any means); it's because it's really hard to shoot accurately under such conditions.
Now in this incident, I sure as hell would like to know why tasers weren't used.
cascadiance
(19,537 posts)Yes, in some instances, if an officer feels their life is threatened, which would presumably be shown by such footage, then it would justify what happened here. If it didn't and it showed that non-lethal force wasn't used effectively, then appropriate actions could be taken, or hopefully those involved in the shooting would have been more motivated to pursue non-violent apprehension procedures than they might have done.
We specifically ask in a recent resolution in Washington County here for body cameras to be a part of what law enforcement uses in conducting their duties. Read more here for the language of the resolution that I helped with, that perhaps we will use this incident to reinforce the need to get some changes in local and state law enforcement.
http://www.washcodems.org/sites/washington.oregondemocrats.org/files/attachments/Deadly%20Force%20-rev_1.pdf
Lizzie Poppet
(10,164 posts)Also an excellent resolution. I'm over in Multnomah County...and I'd love to see all Oregon uniformed LEOs with body cameras.
Sunlei
(22,651 posts)whereisjustice
(2,941 posts)handle distressed 55 yr old women with knife without shooting her to death.
All should be fired, but asshole NRA types will probably give them each a fucking Freedom Medal.
Agony
(2,605 posts)controlling this unprofessional cop behavior needs to be stepped up a notch.
well, OK… first we have to get to the point where the perpetrator is held accountable.
we have a long way to go before civilization happens.
Punx
(474 posts)Is partnered with local non profit to provide crisis mental health services for situations like these and the program has been very successful. I'm wondering why they were not called in. The only thing I can think of was the situation was not "secure".
In no way am I defending the shooting. It seems like non lethal force could have been used. Not so oddly Europe, which I'm sure has situations like this every day, LE doesn't shoot even 1/100 of the number of people we do in the US.
cascadiance
(19,537 posts)If she is, that would make this story that much more explosive! News media, we need more info on this!! This is our community, and I want it safe and monitored by effective police forces. When I have to wake up each day early in the morning with sirens going down the street next to me with sleep apnea now, I want to know that these forces are working effectively to keep us all safe!
blackspade
(10,056 posts)For cops these days.
ChairmanAgnostic
(28,017 posts)So mark this one as a success.
NOT. Our society needs a hell of a lot soul searching, and I am an atheist.
cascadiance
(19,537 posts)But that begs the question as to why we are arming deputies like this and not adequately training them to handle situations like this. It is also noted that they are waiting to contact the woman's family first before identifying her still.
cascadiance
(19,537 posts)No photos or further identification are provided here. Tried to look her up through google. Spokeo shows a number entries for a woman 55 years old with this name, and it looks like all of them are caucasian.
http://www.spokeo.com/Phyllis-Jepsen/Oregon
So, it looks like this likely wasn't a case of someone shooting a POC at least. But a person is dead, and whatever her skin color is, I hope that justice is pursued properly, and we find out the real story of how and why she was shot and killed.
Dont call me Shirley
(10,998 posts)responsible for her murder.
cascadiance
(19,537 posts)
And this looks to be lifted from a Facebook account here.
https://www.facebook.com/phyllis.jepsen
A bit ironic the pic posted as the last picture from her FB account shown here...
I REALLY have a hard time understanding why three deputies felt they needed to shoot and kill a woman looking at this photo to subdue her if they really had tried to use non-lethal means to do so.