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The Virginia branch of the American Civil Liberties Union is calling for an independent investigation and the release of body-camera footage following last week’s fatal shooting of a mentally ill woman in her home by Henrico County police.

"This is what we call for anytime there is a critical incident involving police," said Bill Farrar, a spokesman for the ACLU of Virginia, on Saturday.

Tuesday’s shooting has prompted questions about the use of lethal force by police officers who were conducting a welfare check on Gay Ellen Plack, a 57-year-old woman who had long struggled with bipolar disorder.

“This is one of the most serious types of police-involved incidents that can occur,” Farrar said. “For the public to have confidence to interact with police in the future, they need to know that” the police response was appropriate.

Plack was shot after an altercation with two Henrico police officers, who arrived at her home to check on her well-being at the request of one of her doctors. After police kicked open a locked bedroom door, one of the officers approached a bathroom, from which Plack emerged swinging a small ax. The home is on Huntwick Court in the Wellesley subdivision in Short Pump.