Jane Doe

Date: 6/15/2022          Location: Prescott, AZ          FACTORS (1,2,12,21)          

Name: Unidentified                            

Criminal History/Involved: Unknown. / Yes,  the woman was in the midst of a burglary.

Mental Illness: Unknown.

Substance Abuse History/Involved: Unknown. / None stated.

Race/Sex/Age: Unknown/Female/Unknown

Officer(s) involved: Unidentified Prescott Police Officers                                                  

What prompted the initial contact with police? At around 9 p.m. on June 15, 2022, Prescott police officers responded to a 911 call of a woman “breaking into someone’s house and threatening the owner.” Upon arrival at the house the officers confronted that unidentified woman.

Actions taken by subject towards police: The woman refused to comply with the officers and instead threatened them with violence.

Reactions by the police: Fearing for their lives, the officers used deadly force and killed the woman.

Outcome of investigation into the fatal police incident: The Arizona Department of Public Safety is investigating the shooting.

What could the subject have done that day to still be alive today? The woman could still be alive today if she: complied with the officers’ lawful orders; did not threaten the officers.

Miscellaneous: There are remarkably few details on the woman and her history.

Justified Use of Deadly Force? While it sounds like the officers were justified based upon their stated reasonable fear after the woman threatened their lives, there are not enough details of the incidents to make a determination in this shooting. For example, if the woman acted like she possessed a weapon behind her back and was making a furtive motion toward it then yes, the officers were clearly justified. However, if the woman was threatening the officers with just her bare hands, they should have been able to use less than lethal methods to take her into custody.