INDEPENDENCE, Mo. — A decision has been made not to press charges against a Missouri police officer after an incident last year in which he shot and killed a woman and her infant child. Officers from the Independence Police Department were called to an apartment building in November following reports of an assault. As they deliberated on how to arrest a woman who was nonverbal and communicating through gestures, she suddenly seized a butcher knife from a table beside her bed. Holding the child in her arms, she advanced towards the officers, as stated by the Jackson County Prosecutor’s Office on Friday.
One officer managed to back away, but the other officer had his path blocked by a closet and was unable to retreat, according to the prosecutor’s office. In response, that officer fired four shots as the woman approached him with the knife in hand. Tragically, the gunfire resulted in the deaths of the woman and her child, who were identified by local news as 34-year-old Maria Pike and her 3-month-old daughter, Destinii.
The Jackson County Prosecutor’s Office concluded that the officer’s use of lethal force was justified by law. They also mentioned that there wasn’t sufficient evidence to prove that the officer had purposely targeted the infant. “Evidence shows that the shooting officer fired at the civilian who was holding the infant,” the prosecutors emphasized in their statement.
Melesa Johnson, from the Prosecutor’s Office, stated, “This was not a decision arrived at lightly. The deaths of a young mother and her baby are heartbreakingly tragic.” She further explained, “As prosecutors, we have a duty to apply the law and analyze facts impartially, not swayed by the sympathy we hold for those affected. Our responsibility is to determine if the actions taken were reasonable under Missouri law, rather than whether they were the most advisable course of action.”
