On Friday, January 23, police in Longview, Texas,
tragically shot and killed 17-year-old Kristiana Coignard. In the newly released video, it's clear that her shooting death was completely and totally avoidable.
After speaking with officers and roaming around the lobby of the police station for ten minutes, Kristiana, who was struggling with mental illness, was subdued by an officer in the lobby until two additional officers entered.
After Kristiana clumsily charges at the original officer, he shoots and kills her instantly.
Why did he not handcuff her earlier in the minutes he had her subdued? Why did he not search her for weapons earlier? Why did he not Taser her with a stun gun? Why did he not use pepper spray? Why did he not simply grab her and subdue her again? Why did he not throw a chair at her, run from her, ANYTHING?
This cannot and should not be the best practice for police officers. If this is all our officers are trained to do, it's insufficient.
Head below the fold for the video of the incident.