After a local newspaper filed a lawsuit, police were forced to release more than 23 hours of body camera footage, which showed officers ignoring orders to stand down and forcing their way into a house where they killed a mentally ill woman in a display of force that has left many with questions.
Ciara Howard, 26, was shot and killed by police in August 2017, and when a portion of the body camera footage was
released, it showed her standing in her laundry room, waving a handgun at officers while they screamed at her to drop the weapon. She did not comply, and the officers opened fire, shooting and killing her.
The first release of the footage made it look as though the officers may have been justified in taking Howard's life-clearly, she was pointing a gun directly at them when they began shooting. But there is much more to the story, and a
lawsuit filed by the Kansas City Star has resulted in the release of footage that shows the officers disobeying orders and choosing to use excessive force.
Howard was diagnosed with bipolar disorder and she had a history of addiction, both of which sent her into a downward spiral with the law that she failed to recover from. As the Star reported, "At times when she slipped, she incurred criminal charges. Intoxicated conflicts with her mother led to arrests. Then, when she failed to meet court requirements-missing appearances, shunning substance abuse classes-more charges came."
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