Kansas cops have released body cam footage showing the climax of a three-hour standoff with an armed and emotionally disturbed woman which ended in her shooting death. Watch it above.
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According to the Kansas City Star, the woman in the video is 26-year-old Ciara Howard. Howard had been staying at the Johnson County Adult Residential Center as part of her probation for a theft and obstruction arrest. After losing her job at a convenience store, however, she never reported back to the center. Thus, she was in violation of her probation.
Police charged Howard with a felony of escape and a warrant was issued for her arrest on Aug. 21, 2017. Two days later, a tip came in reporting that she was at her boyfriend’s house.
Olathe police officers and Johnson County deputies surrounded the house for three hours before making the decision to enter the home with a police dog. Howard had barricaded herself in the laundry room toward the back of the house.
The body cam video shows the officers moving through the house.
“Ciara! I need you to go out the back door and I need you to do it now!” one officer can be heard saying.
But Howard refuses to comply, instead cursing at the officers and accusing them of not being real cops. At one point, she cracks open the door and starts barking at the police dog.
When the officers are standing right outside the door, Howard continues cursing at them and slams it shut. That’s when one of the officers forces it open to reveal Howard standing there with a handgun.
The officers immediately order her to drop the gun, but she ignores them, repeatedly pointing it in their direction and waving it around recklessly.
After 13 seconds, two Olathe police officers and a Johnson County deputy open fire, fatally shooting Howard.
The Johnson County District Attorney’s Office has reviewed the evidence and ruled the shooting to be justified.
The Star says Howard had priors run-ins with the law stemming from fights with her mother or driving with a suspended license. In these and other instances, she didn’t comply with court orders and had warrants issued for her arrest. She was repeatedly placed under supervision and ordered to get help for substance abuse and mental health issues. Howard’s mother, Kathy Arnold, tells the Star that Howard has recently been diagnosed with bipolar disorder.
