Kansas City Police Kill Three In One Day; Questions Remain

[Wire154a]

KC police kill 3 in 1 day, say they met 'criteria for lethal force.' Questions remain -- Kansas City Star

In less than an hour Thursday afternoon, Kansas City police shot and killed three people in two incidents, one of which was downtown in a busy area.​

First, in a Northland neighborhood, police shot and killed a woman who had reportedly been carrying a sword. The second shooting occurred in the middle of a public square in downtown Kansas City, leaving two men dead.​

Even as the investigation into the first shooting began, a police spokesman deemed the use of lethal force justified and "unavoidable," while acknowledging he didn't witness it and wasn't sure if the woman killed was armed.

Some "action" took place that "met the criteria for lethal force," said Capt. Lionel Colón of Kansas City police, though he provided no details of the action.
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more at the ink​

 

[Valerio]

Here is a little bit more about the woman with the sword:

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Kansas City police have fatally shot a woman who barricaded herself in a shed after she was seen outside with a sword.

The Kansas City Star reports that the shooting happened Thursday afternoon in the north of the city.

Police Capt. Lionel Colón says he doesn’t know if the woman was armed when she was killed and that he hopes to have information about whether a sword was found at the scene later Friday. He also says he doesn’t know if the woman had left the shed or was still inside when she was shot.

Colón says he’s “very confident it was a last-resort situation to ensure the safety of the public.” Robert King, who lives nearby, questioned why police didn’t use nonlethal force.

The woman’s name hasn’t been released.

Kansas City police kill woman spotted with a sword

 

[Valerio]

Here is another one that has her name:
Police shoot, kill sword-wielding woman in the Northland

 

[Wire154a]

Kansas City Star:

‘KCPD murdered my only daughter,’ says mother of woman who wielded decorative sword

Grant Braaten was on "daddy duty" Thursday, having just placed lunch on the table for his three kids, when an officer rapped on his Kansas City, North, door to alert him: A young woman had broken into the house next door, triggering an alarm, and was refusing to surrender.

The scene that unfolded over the next three hours — including the woman running half naked in a bridesmaid dress wielding a decorative Japanese katana sword — was not only surreal, but also tragic.

It ended with Kansas City police officers firing at least six bullets, killing 28-year-old Ashley Simonetti, and leaving those who knew her seething, insisting that although Simonetti acted peculiar, she was never a danger to others.
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[tnith]

Kansas City Star:

‘KCPD murdered my only daughter,’ says mother of woman who wielded decorative sword

Grant Braaten was on "daddy duty" Thursday, having just placed lunch on the table for his three kids, when an officer rapped on his Kansas City, North, door to alert him: A young woman had broken into the house next door, triggering an alarm, and was refusing to surrender.

The scene that unfolded over the next three hours — including the woman running half naked in a bridesmaid dress wielding a decorative Japanese katana sword — was not only surreal, but also tragic.

It ended with Kansas City police officers firing at least six bullets, killing 28-year-old Ashley Simonetti, and leaving those who knew her seething, insisting that although Simonetti acted peculiar, she was never a danger to others.
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From her FB:

Never underestimate your opponent.

calcium carbide bombs. Fill a small glass container with water, and a calcium carbide cube to the mix, place a lid on top, use needle to poke a small whole in the lid for the gas to escape. Then tape a pack of matches next to the escaping gas. And fold the lid of your matches over freshly lit cig. Then toss your wad of trash beneath the nearest cop car. The drive away, as the ember burns down three miles away when the matches ignite. setting there vehicle aflame. The last person seen was just a homeless girl with a pile of trash, and the villan a ghost.


WOW.

All was NOT well with that one.

All the comments about how she was wonderful and light and beauty who'd never harm anything. Did these people bother to pay any attention to the ticking time bomb of restless schizophrenic disaster brewing within her?

This woman may have been shot like a dog in the street (RIP Ashley ) but she was clearly suffering and in dire need of medical support that was either unavailable or completely ignored & avoided.
Somehow this day was going to come as it does for so many of her ilk, and no one wanted to think about that ugly truth.

My heart goes out to those who watched this situation escalate with dread unable to intervene or alter the inevitable... not so much for everyone who cared just enough about how nice it was to see her 'quirky' ways & pretended it was wonderful- so many chances to save her before thrown away.