The debate among United States citizens over the practices of the police in the nation has been going on for quite some time. People specifically are unhappy with how often and how recklessly officers are using their firearms and other weapons. A recent incident in New York has once again sparked this dialogue. According to CNN, an elderly woman has been shot by officers in New York. The news has many people shocked and confused.
The news of this shooting came about on Wednesday afternoon. CNN is reporting that the police of the state fatally shot a woman who was 66 years old. The woman is alleged to have had some sort of mental illness and attacked the officer in the Bronx with a baseball bat. The incident has caused much uproar in the community.
Police were called to the area by the neighbors of the woman in question. CNN is also reporting that a 911 call was made around 6:00pm on Tuesday night reporting the woman’s irrational behavior. This was not the first call made in reference to this particular woman and her sometimes violent behavior. After grabbing a baseball bat, the woman began to attack the officers at the scene of the incident. One the officers then grabbed his firearm and struck the women with two bullets in her torso. CNN is also reporting that she later died of her injuries at the Jacobi Medical Center.
Not only are the citizens in the area upset with the way things transpired during this incident, but officials from the police department are also expressing their disappointment. CNN reports that police Commissioner James O’Neil released a statement on Wednesday.
“We do have polices and procedures for handling emotionally disturbed people, and it looks like that some of those procedures weren’t followed… What is clear in this one instance is we failed.”
Debate about practices and gun usage with police in the nation is an issue that continues to worry many people in the United States. Incidents like this keep people wondering how many more unnecessary shootings will have to take place until police reforms are made.
