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Renee Davis was shot and killed by King* County (Washington) Sheriff’s deputies on Friday (October 21). The 23-year-old Native woman was five months pregnant and struggling with depression. She texted a friend to say that she was “in a bad way,” her foster sister, Danielle Bargala, told the Seattle Times. That person called the police, who went to Davis’ home on Muckleshoot tribal lands. Two of Davis’ three children (ages 2, 3 and 5) were there with her. The oldest child was with a family friend during the shooting.
Officers say that no one answered the door, so they entered the home. “They tried repeatedly to get somebody to come to the door, nobody did. But, they could see the two kids running around inside then house,” King County Sheriff’s Office media relations officer Cindi West told press, per local station KOMO. “The found her in the house and she was armed with a handgun.”
Bargala told the Seattle Times that she doesn’t know if her sister owned a handgun, but that as an avid hunter, she had a hunting rifle. But she does know that her sister was not violent. “It’s really upsetting because it was a wellness check. Obviously, she didn’t come out of it well,” she said.
“My community is confused. We have our own police department in which we know our deputies personally. I never thought this would happen so close to home,” Hunter Vaiese told Heavy.com. “She needed help, but she got bullets. It doesn’t make sense to me.”
Davis’ children were not injured in the shooting and are currently living with relatives. The names of the two involved deputies have not yet been released; they are on paid administrative leave.
*Piece has been updated since publication to indicate that the incident took place in King County, not Kings County.
12 Comments
Man, that sux. Again. And again. Guns should be the last resort, not the first.
You get a college graduate's pay without going to college. At worst, you get to terrrorize villagers in Afghanistan for awhile, then you come back to be a cop.
And you can bully, beat, and MURDER with impunity.
How cool is THAT?
Its King county not kings county. Sorry for the correction but the nation needs to know the right info for these killer cops. The sheriffs here are down right evil most of the time. There has been several stories of corruption in the Sheriff's Department all the way from the top down. I doubt there will be any justice for this poor woman and her family. These incompetent Sheriff's need to be brought up on charges. It just goes to show you can't call them anymore when you need help. They only work for themselves
The most upsetting thing about this article is the underwhelming sense of incredible injustice it is not only to take life, but to do so in front of children.
To say that the children were "unharmed" is the most devastatingly inaccurate comment in the article. By downplaying the truth of the situation I feel we neglect to cover the REAL story.
The family is here suffering the injustice that we make possible through legality loop holes for cops and men with guns.
God knows gun in hand or not - they wouldn't have shot a rich white woman with 2 kids in the house. You never read those kinds of headlines.
Working as a self appointed advocate for the streets of the DTES Vancouver, I found out they also gang rape anal. the majority of women on the streets these days are First nations aka Native american. When I tried to expose it I was drugged and gang raped. Women told me everything including complicity of police in missing women and Pig Farm snuff movies and murders and rapes.
Speaking from experience...if you are feeling so terrible and suicidal that you actually admit it out loud to a friend, you need your FRIEND to come over, NOT the cops. There is nothing worse than getting hauled off by the cops, or in this case SHOT, when you are feeling suicidal. Learn from this tragedy, ALWAYS help out a suicidal loved one yourself or send a caring proxy. If your seriously depressed loved one wanted to talk to the cops about ending their life, they would have called 911.
Absolutely true. Do not send Law Enforcement to intervene in a suicide situation for a wellness check. Sadly true that most are not trained in to de-escalate and most departments are not funded to have this ability. Calling rescue would be better, but even then Emergency Services cannot enter a scene where there if someone is brandishing a weapon. I doubt that she was. This is the saddest outcome, and my heart aches for her and her children. I can understand knocking the door down, and then having a friend or family member present to take the children while waiting her out. These scenes take time, but I wish she could have been helped and no one would have this on their conscience. Just a little more training to not escalate the situation and it could have been a brighter day.
Meh... she had a gun and your shitty left wing reporting does not state what she did with it or any statements from police. This is really bad biased left wing anti cop reporting and most definitely a justifiable shooting
I'm compelled to check facts. Jean TruthSeeker, your statement implies you were there, on the scene so you saw the gun? The article is ambiguous about that issue. Also, a the use of a taser would have been equally effective and far less deadly?
Everyday American police interact with hundreds of despondent, emotionally or mentally ill Americans whose families and friends were aware of their mental illness or declining mental state but took no MEANINGFUL ACTION to assist a emotionally damaged loved one.
I find it very sad some journalists are characterizing this incident as "police brutality."
I'm certain each of the officers involved are today experiencing emotional issues over taking a person's life. A life that may have been saved if FAMILY took action to HELP their loved one.
Peace.
You are correct that it's preferable to deal with emotionally disturbed friends and family yourself rather than having the sheriff department show up at their door. But the sheriff was called and this sort of situation is well within the purview of their duties and they fouled it up.
If I wanted to treat my brother and his fiancé to a nice dinner, I could have them over and make it myself. I could also take them to a nice restaurant. If the waiter gets our order wrong or the cook sends out a rare steak when I clearly asked for it to be well done, I'll send it back. I won't leave a tip. I'll make a complaint. I certainly won't worry that my sending the steak back upset the cook. I know most people feel the same.
When it comes to law enforcement in this country it is pretty obvious that in the last few years a lot of unarmed people are shot dead. Or the folks the police were sent to help end up dead. This is clearly a problem with the profession. These people work for us. We don't let doctors amputate the wrong leg and worry how they feel about messing up.
Law enforcement is a difficult profession. It is an admirable profession but if someone is no good at it, they need to go. If we find that there is a systemic problem in the profession we need to remedy that. Every law enforcement agency in the US is in need of some overhaul. Comprehensive restructuring with reasonable national standards set and rigorous training. These dumb Barney Fifes need to hand in their badge and find work at the local burger shack and be replaced by competent people.
To jman truth seeker. We are an armed nation. People have guns. If you're so scared of a 23 yo pregnant woman that you shoot to kill, you're not a good cop. Simple as that. There are other ways of dealing with that situation. That's why cops get honoured for bravery. This was a cowardIce act of incompentcy and I don't need to know anything else but they were sent to help a depressed pregnant woman and instead killed her. If anybody else messes up on their job they aren't sent home with full pay to watch Game of Thrones marathon.
So officers. No more donuts until you can fire a non-lethal shot, use a taser or grow a pair. I don't understand your incompetent action I won't be understanding. If you mess up there should be consequences not paid leave.
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