BCA identifies officers who fatally shot woman in St. Paul, body cam footage released
ST. PAUL, Minn. — The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension has released the identities of the three officers who fatally shot a woman in St. Paul earlier this week. Body camera footage has also been released.
According to police, officers responded to reports of a suicide in progress in the Payne-Phalen neighborhood around 7:15 p.m. Monday. When they arrived, a woman inside a home on Rose Avenue East pointed a handgun at officers and they shot her, according to police. She died at the scene.
Officials say the 41-year-old woman died from multiple gunshot wounds.
The BCA said the three St. Paul police officers, who all fired their weapons, are now on critical incident leave. They're identified as officers Chiking Chazonkhueze, Chee Lao and Yengkong Lor.
Chazonkhueze and Lor have several years of law enforcement experience. Lao has three months of law enforcement experience.
St. Paul police requested the BCA to investigate the officers' use of force.
BCA's preliminary investigation findings
According to the BCA, the woman's mother called officers to the back room of the home when they arrived. The woman was there sitting on the floor and officers asked her if she needed help.
The woman then "rapidly reached under a blanket" to grab a handgun, stood up and pointed it at the officers, the BCA said. The three officers fired their handguns, striking her multiple times. The officers then attempted life-saving care, but she died at the scene.
A handgun and cartridge casings were recovered on the scene.
The BCA said it would present its findings without a charging recommendation to the Ramsey County Attorney's Office for review.
Body camera footage released
The officers involved in the shooting were all wearing body cameras. On Friday afternoon, the St. Paul Police Department released excerpts of the footage showing the incident.
In the release, Mayor Melvin Carter said his "prayers and sincerest condolences are with the family and loved ones" of the woman as they "navigate her tragic death."
"Any time our officers respond to an emergency, they seek the safest outcome possible," he said. "I am grateful for their quick response in coming to the aid of a neighbor in crisis, and responding to a situation that could have been even more deadly. We hold our police to the highest standard of accountability and transparency, which is why we are releasing the body-worn camera footage immediately after the family had the opportunity to review it. We value the urgency in which community members called on us to release it, and appreciate the BCA's commitment to a timely review, allowing us to reach this point within days."
"No one wanted this to happen; not the families or our officers. This is a tragedy that will stay with all of them for the rest of their lives," St. Paul Police Chief Axel Henry said in the release. "What happened Monday night not only illustrates the unpredictable nature first responders are asked to navigate every day but should also serve as a call to ignite us all to come together to find ways to help our people in crisis."
SPPD navigating responding to mental health calls
Despite St. Paul Police having a mental health team, the members of the Community Outreach and Stabilization Unit — or COAST — couldn't respond to Monday night's call.
"We don't have a department that's big enough to be set up to have just dedicated officers only doing this and responding those 24 hours a day, seven days a week," said Henry.
Rachel Peterson, a former SWAT negotiator-turned mental health counselor says that even if social workers were available, the urgency of Monday night's call might have kept them away.
"In this particular case, it was a suicide in progress, which is obviously the worst-case scenario. And that is something that most likely we would never send a social worker to, we would never send a crisis therapist to, due to the potential danger there," Peterson said.
Peterson is part of the Adler Graduate School's state-funded initiative to help police with mental health issues, both within the community and themselves.
"They're doing more with less because of the crisis we have, with losing so many officers to PTSD, mental health, anxiety, etc. And so we're at a disadvantage already," she said.
Henry said Monday's incident illustrates the need for more attention, funding and training on mental health response.
"Because we never know, I could be driving home tonight and have to deal with a person in crisis, get out of my squad and deal with it. And it doesn't matter that you're the chief of police. You have to know how to do these core responsibilities," he said.
Mental Health Resources
If you or someone you know is in emotional distress, get help from the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline by calling or texting 988. Trained crisis counselors are available 24 hours a day to talk about anything.
In addition, help is available from the National Alliance on Mental Illness, or NAMI. Call the NAMI Helpline at 800-950-6264 or text "HelpLine" to 62640. There are more than 600 local NAMI organizations and affiliates across the country, many of which offer free support and education programs.
