Chilling body camera footage shows a Missouri mother carrying her baby lunging at police with a giant kitchen knife, leading to the officer fatally shooting both of them.
Newly released video shows a police officer responding to a family assault incident holding her 2-month-old daughter, Destiny Hope, in the closet of her Independence home while her mother, Maria The video shows him having a calm conversation with Pike, 34, at first.
It's a body cam video program The Independent Police Department (IDP) said few words were exchanged and officers repeatedly asked the visibly upset mother to put her baby down.
“After repeated attempts were unsuccessful, she exited the closet, walked past the officers and sat on the bed next to the nightstand,” the department said.
Pike's husband (Destiny's father) is seen sitting shirtless on the bed, and officers continue to speak with the mother, who is still holding the baby.
Eleven minutes into the video, Pike can be seen suddenly grabbing a large knife from a bedside table and lunging at the officer.
“Wow!” gasped the male officer who had first threatened her, and the mother turned to the officer whose fear was captured on camera and held the knife over her head, still holding her baby in front of her.
“She pulled out a large, hidden knife and charged at the officer while holding her child,” the police department said in a statement.
“As a result, one police officer opened fire on the woman, fatally wounding the woman and the infant.”
Police have not identified the shooter or released details about what happened after the footage froze.
The three officers involved have since been placed on administrative leave.
“The Independent Police Force has been and will continue to be as transparent as legally permitted,” the department said. “IPD fully understands the demands surrounding the events of that day and will continue to cooperate fully with the external investigation being conducted by the Police Involvement Investigation Team.”
The department said it would not provide additional information about the incident until the investigation is complete.
