The body-camera footage showed the fatal shooting of Niani Finlayson in Los Angeles was released by the authorities. The woman who had called 911 for help was gunned down by an officer, who was there to assist her in an alleged domestic violence incident. Notably, the officer involved had earlier gunned down a civilian under similar circumstances. Here is why the month-old case is in the centre of a storm in the United States.
1. The shooting took place on the night of December 4 in Lancaster of Los Angeles. Niani Finlayson, a 27-year-old black woman, was shot dead by an officer of the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department (LASD) in the presence of her 9-year-old daughter.
2. The incident made headlines once again as the LASD on Friday released body-camera footage of the deputies involved in the incident.
3. Shockingly, the officers arrived at the doorstep to respond to Niani Finlayson's 911 emergency call for help and ended up fatally shooting her.
4. Niani Finlayson reportedly called the cops to report a domestic violence incident. Her ex-boyfriend was at her residence and refused to leave. Niani even accused him of punching and pushing her in the presence of the minor.
5. The LASD deputies were let in by the woman herself. She answered the door in the presence of the child. The mother and daughter are seen pointing fingers at the man inside the house.
6. A female deputy entered the apartment first, followed by her colleague identified as Ty Shelton. Just moments after seeing what was going on Shelton fired at the woman -- hitting her four times.
7. Deputy Shelton had a Taser in his hand but decided to use his gun on Finlayson instead. “No, no, why did you shoot?” Niani's ex reportedly asked Shelton as she collapsed on the floor.
8. The officer made no effort to defuse the situation. Despite having the non-lethal weapon at his disposal, Shelton went for the gun, may point out.
9. Deputy Ty Shelton was earlier involved in the fatal shooting of another civilian. On 11 June 2020, he shot dead Michael Thomas, 61, also while responding to a call for potential domestic violence. According to the victim's girlfriend, Shelton gunned down Thomas when he tried to stop them from entering their residence, The Guardian said in a report. Thomas was unarmed and Shelton shot him in the chest. He was not prosecuted, the report added.
10. Shelton remains removed from the field as an investigation is going on into the incident. The murder is the latest in a string of violent incidents by the LA Sheriff's Department in Lancaster, The Guardian said. Black women were at the receiving end of these incidents. Some of these cases included black women getting punched in the face and being thrown to the floor by uniformed officers, the report added.
