RPD releases video showing police fatally shooting woman holding gun

Video footage released Thursday by the Richmond Police Department shows a woman fired a gun in the direction of officers before she was fatally shot earlier this month at an apartment complex off Midlothian Turnpike.

The nearly 6-minute video shows the woman fired just as officers were reaching the top of an open-air staircase, with a bystander nearby trying to come down.

A responding officer yelled, “Drop the gun!” and fired his own weapon at the woman almost immediately. She was pronounced dead at the scene.

The video uses both body cameras and surveillance video from the apartment building. Because of the angle, it’s not clear if the woman could see the officers coming before she fired the gun. The responding officers announced themselves as they were going up the stairs.

The release also includes 911 calls from people who reported shots being fired at the Belt Atlantic Apartments in the 4000 block of Midlothian Turnpike. Those calls came in around 6:47 p.m. on May 7.

No one else was injured during the incident, according to police.

Richmond Police Chief Rick Edwards had said he would release a “critical incident briefing” video about the fatal shooting. Thursday’s release said the video was being provided as part of RPD’s “core value and commitment to maintaining trust and legitimacy through transparency.”

The officer who shot the woman is on paid administrative leave, per usual RPD policy. A full investigative report will follow, according to police, and that report will be delivered to Commonwealth’s Attorney Colette McEachin to determine if any further action is warranted.

Richmond recently established a Civilian Review Board in an effort to provide outside oversight of fatal police shootings. The RPD release does not mention a role for that board in the current review.

Contact Reporter Graham Moomaw at gmoomaw@richmonder.org