D.S. Woodfill

12 News

A Phoenix police sergeant shot and killed a 50-year-old woman while trying to serve a mental-health order at a west-side apartment Thursday afternoon, officials said.

Sgt. Tommy Thompson, a police spokesman, said officers had a court order to take Michelle Cusseaux to a mental-health facility.

Officers went to the Graybriar Condominiums, 3810 N. Maryvale Parkway, to pick up Cusseaux at about 2:15 p.m.

Thompson said caseworkers "were trying to get her to come in for treatment. It got to the point that she wouldn't do that. ... She had a weapon and was making threats."

As police were opening the security door to her unit, Cusseaux was opening her front door with a claw hammer raised above her head, Thompson said.

He said police were within an arm's length of Cusseaux and, feeling threatened, a patrol sergeant fired one shot from his gun, striking her in the chest. She was taken to a hospital, where she was pronounced dead.

Thompson said the Phoenix Police Department serves an average of 10 mental-health orders each day and that they are some of the most challenging and potentially dangerous tasks for officers.

The sergeant, a 19-year police veteran, was placed on routine, paid administrative leave, Thompson said, adding that there will be an internal investigation.