“The audio recording also dispels some of the many Internet theories that floated around right after the shooting occurred.”
A 30 year old woman, Charleena Lyles, was killed this past Sunday after a dramatic confrontation with police in Seattle. Two officers fired their service weapons after Ms. Lyles allegedly attempted to attack them. Despite efforts to provide first aid, Ms. Lyles succumbed to her wounds. The Seattle police department has released audio of the shooting, showing just how quickly a seemingly calm situation can spiral out of control.
The audio recording seems to suggest a seemingly normal and benign encounter, at least, at first. The police and Ms. Lyles calmly discuss a recent alleged break-in, with the responding officers taking down notes and trying to do their job. Towards the end of the four minute recording, there’s some commotion and the police start yelling “get back!”, “get back!”. Shots were then fired.
The audio recording only tells us part of the story, but seems to back up the officers’ version of events. They entered the apartment at Ms. Lyle’s invitation, and were responding to a straightforward burglary report. After a few minutes of appearing calm, and everything seeming normal, Ms. Lyles attempted to attack them with no warning, allegedly with a knife.
The audio recording also dispels some of the many Internet theories that floated around right after the shooting occured. Some people believed that the police essentially barged in and that Ms. Lyles was wielding a knife in self-defense, to fend off what she thought were burglars. Clearly, that’s not the case.
It’s possible that Lyles was suffering from mental health issues. Police had already identified her apartment as a higher risk site, hence why two officers responded. However, given the first few minutes of the interaction, the officers had little reason to suspect they were in danger. The situation went from normal to dangerous within only a few seconds.
Many people are also wondering why officers didn’t first use a taser or other non-lethal weapons. While this would have likely produced a better outcome for all parties involved, police have only a few moments to respond. It’s also tempting to ask why the police had to respond with their guns when Ms. Lyles was “only” wielding a knife.
A popular police training method, the “Tueller Drill”, shows that an assailant with a knife can easily cover twenty one feet and stab someone before they can draw their gun to return fire. For officers, this means that anyone within twenty-some feet represents a grave threat.
Tensions Already High After Officer Yanez Found Not Guilty
The incident occurred just days after Minnesota officer Jeronimo Yanez was found not guilty of manslaughter and other charges after gunning down an African American man who was lawfully carrying a gun. This incident occurred during a routine traffic stop and resulted in the death of Philando Castile, who was apparently reaching for his wallet when Yanez discharged seven bullets, with five of them hitting Castile.
The Castile case does appear to be more complicated. Castile was licensed to carry a firearm, and did the textbook right thing by letting the officer know. However, Officer Yanez believed that as Castile went for his license, that he was reaching for his gun, and thus discharged his weapon. In recordings after the incident Castile is clearly distraught.
Protesters in Minnesota and elsewhere have taken to the street, renewing simmering tensions between police and the community at large. The recent Lyles shooting also solicited strong responses and allegations of police abuse. However, before jumping to such conclusions, it is important to first gather the facts.
