The Los Angeles Police Department on Monday identified the officer who killed an allegedly knife-wielding woman in an officer-involved shooting in the Crenshaw district as Brett Ramirez.
The Southwest Station officer has returned to duty since the shooting, according to the Los Angeles Times.
Suspect Redel Jones, 30, who died at the scene, had just robbed a pharmacy when she was shot about 2 p.m. Aug. 12 in the 4100 block of Marlton Avenue, according to the LAPD and Los Angeles County coroner’s office.
According to police, the incident began about 20 minutes earlier, when officers were dispatched to the 3700 block of Santa Rosalia Drive on a report of a pharmacy robbery.
While investigating the robbery, officers saw a woman matching the description of the suspect in an alley west of Marlton Avenue, said LAPD Officer Nuria Vanegas.
“Officers tried to detain the female, at which time an officer-involved shooting occurred,” Vanegas said, adding that a Taser was deployed before the shooting.
Police said the woman was armed with a knife, and that a knife was recovered at the scene.
According to The Times, an LAPD internal report on the shooting said officers were chasing Jones in the alley when they saw her pull out a large knife. The officers allegedly ordered Jones to drop the knife, but she continued to run, the newspaper reported.
When Jones “suddenly stopped and turned toward the officers,” the report said, one of the officers used his Taser, which didn’t seem to affect her, according to the report, which also said that money and a robbery demand note were found in Jones’ clothing and knife was near her body.
The day after the shooting, Courtyana Franklin, who said she witnessed the fatal confrontation, told The Times that Jones was running from the officers when she was shot.
Franklin said she watched the events from the side view mirror of her car.
— City News Service