Overview

• Baltimore Police Commissioner Richard Worley said officers had visited the woman’s home about 20 times before the June 25 call and deployed a Taser after she allegedly lunged with a knife.
• Worley described that one officer fell over a chair while retreating and another fired two shots, and the 70-year-old woman later died at a nearby hospital.
• Neighbors and Councilman John Bullock are demanding expanded de-escalation training and stronger crisis intervention teams within the department.
• Community members have questioned why officers did not engage the nearby Tuerk House Crisis Stabilization Center, which offers short-term care for those in behavioral health emergencies.
• The shooting is the second fatal officer-involved incident in West Baltimore in a week and has reignited scrutiny of protocols outlined in a 2016 Justice Department report on force against people with mental illness.