Fairfax County Police has released bodycam footage of the moment Sidney Wilson, a 33-year-old, was shot and killed by a police officer performing a welfare check.
The incident occurred just after 10 a.m. Sept. 16, when a call was placed to the police to conduct a welfare check at a home in Reston, Virginia.
An officer, crisis intervention-trained officer Peter Liu responded, was dispatched to Wilson’s apartment on Sunrise Valley Drive after her doctor raised concerns about her mental health.
Liu, a 14-year veteran, was supposed to show up with a mental health co-responder since the situation involved a mental health crisis but the one nearby was on another call, according to Fairfax County Police Chief Kevin Davis.
The officer knocked on Sydney Wilson’s door alone which she opened, listened to him identify himself and refused to let him in. The officer knocked once again and this time she opened with a knife in hand and went on the attack, slashing at the officer.
Officer Peter Liu retreated down her hallway and warned her to drop the weapon or he fires. She refused, walking towards him with the weapon held up in a threatening manner. The officer eventually fired several shots, killing Sydney Wilson.
READ ALSO: Florida State University Student Preston Jones Reported Dead
Chief Davis said his officer did the best he could to deescalate the situation but in the end did not have any other options.
“It could have been much, much, much worse,” Davis said. “The slash, gash and slash wound he received was at the top of his forehead.”
He added that the mental health co-responder was probably going to have been hurt as well if he was available.
“Clinicians absolutely expose themselves to an element of danger any time they get out of a police car and go up to a door or a scene of a crash or an outdoor scenario with a police officer, and there’s an element of risk associated with it.” he said.
Currently, the officer involved is on administrative leave. Fairfax County police released the footage as part of their ongoing investigations.
