Los Angeles sheriff’s deputy who killed Niani Finlayson, 27, previously had killed another civilian under similar circumstances

A Los Angeles county sheriff’s deputy shot and killed a 27-year-old woman who had called 911 to report that she was under attack by a former boyfriend, police officials and lawyers for the victim’s family said on Thursday. Records show the deputy had killed another person in similar circumstances three years ago.

On 4 December, Niani Finlayson called police and “reported that her boyfriend would not leave her alone and then screaming and sounds of a struggle could be heard”, the LA sheriff’s department (LASD) said in a statement. When deputies arrived at the apartment in Lancaster, a city in the northern region of LA county, they could hear screaming, LASD said.

Finlayson was inside with her nine-year-old daughter and had been injured by her ex-boyfriend and wanted him removed, her family’s attorneys said. The exact circumstances that led to the fatal shooting are unclear and LASD has so far declined to release body-camera footage.

  • Neato
    19•11 months ago

    Only call the cops if you’re 100% OK with anyone involved and around being killed. I.e. you’re already under threat of death.

    • @The_Cleanup_Batter
      46•11 months ago

      I mean without knowing more information than “she was being attacked by an ex boyfriend in a domestic violence situation” she very well could have been. I don’t fault her at all for wanting to call the cops. 100% of the fault lies with the responding officers and the system that allows them to operate with the training and mindset that they have.

      • eric
        9•11 months ago

        It didn’t seem to me that they were implying the officers are not at fault, but the fact remains that cops cannot be trusted to do the right thing when called and that you could end up dead if you call them as the victim reporting a crime.

        • FuglyDuckEnglish
          4•11 months ago

          Noor shot a woman who called because she thought some one was being raped. These kinds of “mistakes” never should happen.

          And they happen way too often,

        • Flying Squid
          0•11 months ago

          If her boyfriend was threatening to physically harm her or her child (he did injure her) and was preventing them from leaving, what do you suggest she do?

            • Flying Squid
              5•11 months ago

              Did she have a gun? Do you think he would even allow her to have a gun? And do you think if she got one, he wouldn’t be able to wrestle it away from her before she shot him?

              I guess if all three of those answers are “yes, quite likely,” your solution would be a good one.

              On the other hand, not being able to shoot the man attacking you should not justify either him attacking her or the cop killing her.

              I swear, some people seem to think everyone should be forced to own a gun.

          • eric
            1•11 months ago

            I’m not saying I have better options for her, and I’m not blaming her for her death because she called the police, but calling the police always carries a risk of completely unnecessary death, and that is a huge fucking problem for any victim of any crime.