LONGMONT, Colo. — A woman, who police say was suicidal, was shot and killed by police in Longmont Thursday after police say she emerged from her house holding a gun.
The officer who fired the shot, a member of the Longmont SWAT Team, has been placed on paid administrative leave while an external investigation is completed, as is policy, officials said. The investigation will be completed by the Boulder County Critical Incident Team.
According to Longmont Public Safety, officers had responded to a call about a suicidal woman and were leaving the scene when they heard a gunshot from the garage.
Police said they tried to "re-establish contact" with the woman and negotiated with her to come out from the home unarmed. A subsequent statement from Longmont Public Safety said negotiations "were conducted by trained crisis negotiators, including officers trained in Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) response for individuals experiencing a mental health crisis."
"However, after some time and further attempts to get her to come out of the property unarmed, she emerged from the garage brandishing a firearm and was subsequently shot by an officer," officials said in the statement.
She was transported to the hospital, where she was pronounced dead, police said.
Officials said after the incident that the 1500 block of East Third Avenue, where the shooting occurred, would remain closed for at least the next eight hours while an investigation was conducted.
"Incidents involving a loss of life are heartbreaking for everyone involved, including the individual who died, their loved ones, responding officers, and the broader community," a Longmont Public Safety spokesperson said in a statement. "We recognize the pain and concern these events cause, and we share in the grief that follows whenever a life is lost."
Further information about the woman or the officer was not immediately available.
"At this time, the name of the officer involved, specific body-worn camera details, dispatch details, and other evidentiary information are not being released pending the independent investigation and any related legal requirements," public safety officials said in the statement. The woman's identity will be released by the Boulder County coroner's office, officials said.
The last investigation into a fatal shooting by a Longmont officer listed in Boulder County DA records was in 2018, when officers shot Gillie Thurby after he allegedly pulled a gun while officers were arresting him on a sexual assault warrant. That investigation took about two months, and the Critical Investigation Team found officers were legally justified in their use of force.
This is a developing story that will be updated if we learn more.
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