Native American Woman Holding Scissors Killed by AZ Police

A Navajo woman who was shot dead by a police officer in Arizona has sparked protests. The shooting of 27-year-old Loreal Tsingine in March led tribal officials to urge the US Justice Department to investigate the treatment of Native Americans who live in towns that border the reservation.

Footage of the 30-second encounter between Tsingine and the police officer has been made public after a ruling that officer Austin Shipley was justified in shooting her because he feared his life, and he feared his colleague was in danger.

The body camera appears to show Tsingine resisting arrest as Shipley tries to restrain her.  She falls to the ground where her belongings spill out of her purse. Among the items was a prescription for Aripiprazole, an antipsychotic medication.

When Tsingine gets back up, she is seen walking quickly towards Shipley with medical scissors in her left hand, pointed down. She seems to yell while walking towards him and it's at that point officer Shipley raises his gun and fires five times, with his partner scrambling out of the way.

The police officer was responding to a shoplifting call when he shot Tsingine on a sidewalk close to the convenience store where the alleged theft had happened. It's not known what was said between Tsingine and Shipley during the confrontation as the video has no audio, city attorney Ellen Van Riper said.

Maricopa County prosecutor Bill Montgomery announced on Friday that his office found no evidence of criminal conduct by Shipley in Tsingine's death. An investigation by the Arizona Department of Public Safety concluded that Shipley had told Tsingine to stop resisting, get on the ground and drop the scissors, but she refused to do so. That story was also backed up by witnesses, according to the department.

The shooting comes during heightened tension across the country concerning police involved shootings and perhaps excessive use of deadly force. The decision to clear Shipley prompted a small protest outside of the prosecutor's office earlier this week with another demonstration expected on Friday. A full investigation report is expected to be released next week by officials in Winslow.

Documents previously released by Winslow officials show that officers who trained Shipley had serious concerns about his work and one of them recommended he should not serve the city as an officer.

Tsingine had a lengthy arrest record, including an incident last year when she allegedly tried to grab an officer's gun as he tried to arrest her. Her relatives have filed a $10.5 million notice of claim against the city, seeking $2 million for her husband and $8.5 million for her 8-year old daughter. The suit says Shipley violated Tsingine's civil rights and Winslow was negligent in "hiring, training, retaining, controlling and supervising" Shipley.

Shipley is on paid administrative leave while the Mesa Police Department conducts an internal affairs investigation.

Source: youtube.com