Unidentified woman is in stable condition after police say she refused to drop a knife. The cause of confrontation remains unclear

This article is more than 5 years old

This article is more than 5 years old

A woman was reported in stable condition after being shot by a police officer in northeast Washington, after allegedly refusing to drop a knife.

Metropolitan police department commander David Taylor said on Saturday night that police were called to Clay Terrace, about nine miles east of the White House, at about 6.15pm on Saturday, for a report of fire. Responding officers were confronted by a woman holding at least one knife, he said.

She was told to drop the weapon but did not comply and was shot once in the upper body as she advanced, Taylor said. The woman was taken to the hospital, Taylor said, and was reported in stable condition.

Police did not identify the woman or the officer who shot her on Saturday, and the cause of the confrontation remained unclear.

The Washington Post reported that DC police chief Cathy Lanier said on Saturday that the woman had “multiple knives” and that no rigid rules determine how officers are to respond in such circumstances.

“There is no policy that dictates every individual officer’s perception and every individual officer’s actions,” she said.

At least two videos appeared to show the incident. In them, an officer points a pistol at a woman in a pink baseball-style hat. She appears to be about 8ft to 10ft away, advancing sporadically and unsteadily toward him.

“Put the knife down,” one person can be heard shouting.

Soon after, a single pop is heard, accompanied by screams.

Lanier said she understood videos had been made at the scene, and asked that they be made available to police.

In interviews with the Post, two witnesses said that when encountered by police, the woman had a knife, which they described as relatively small. One man, Gerald McBrayer, said the woman was holding “a little steak knife” and received no warning. Another man, Nathan Strickland, said she had a steak knife with what he described as a “skinny” 6in to 8in blade.

A fire department spokesman told the paper the cause of the fire on Clay Terrace was under investigation. It was not clear what connection the woman may have had with it.