Woman Dies After Police Were Warned Not To Enter
In August 2017, police officers in Olathe, Kansas, were becoming frustrated before forcefully entering the home of Ciara Howard, 26, to arrest her on an outstanding warrant. Upon entering the home, officers shot and killed Howard, however body cam footage recently surfaced of the incident and in the footage the officers were warned not to enter.
The footage shows that during the three-hour siege, Johnson County deputies and the Olathe police force were briefed about the situation. They also knew about Howard’s history which included minor offences, addiction, and mental illness. The warrant Howard was being arrested for was for leaving the county’s adult residential center where she was required to be due to her previous conviction.
Law enforcement officers also knew that Howard had access to her boyfriend’s handgun, and with this information and based on what the warrant they had, one of the commanders said “It’s not worth getting into a shootout and hurting an officer or hurting her over the type of warrants that we have.” At no time during the three-hour standoff were negotiators called in or even mental health specialists, but they did use Howard’s boyfriend as a negotiator – which is not recommended.
Two hours into the standoff, at approximately 5 p.m., some officers talked about waiting for Howard to come out, saying “I heard Jimmy John’s delivers” with another officer saying “I’ve got a grill.” During the standoff, Howard said “I’m not afraid to die!” adding “I’m ready!” – and this was escalated by police from a non-violent offence to a state where she became dangerous.
Officers made their way inside the house, with Howard in the laundry room with a .45 caliber handgun in her left hand. After slamming the door on police who were in the next room, they managed to get it open – with three officers in the room with Ciara. After 13 seconds of officers requesting Howard to put the gun down, she was shot multiple times.
LOLWOT would like to warn viewers that this video contains graphic images.
