A US police officer has been stripped of his gun and badge after he shot a mentally ill black pensioner dead.
Sgt Hugh Barry was among officers called to Deborah Danner’s New York apartment on Tuesday evening to reports of an “emotionally disturbed person”.
He persuaded her to drop a pair of scissors, but shot her twice after she tried to hit him with a baseball bat.
They had already come to Ms Danner’s apartment on a number of occasions, each time taking her to hospital.
It is not known why Sgt Barry, who had been an officer for eight years and was equipped with a stun gun, did not follow his training.
The killing has sparked outrage – not just because of the 66-year-old’s race, but also her fragile mental state.
New York Mayor Bill de Blasio said on Wednesday she “should be alive right now”, while NYPD Commissioner James O’Neil said his department had “failed”.
“It’s not how we train; our first obligation is to preserve life, not to take a life when it can be avoided,” he said.
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