DETROIT – No charges will be filed against police officers who fatally shot an armed woman who was having a mental health crisis late last year, authorities said.
The officers’ “actions were justified,” as they acted in self-defense or the defense of others, the Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office said.
Three officers opened fire on Kazia Miller, 27, of Detroit, fatally wounding her, as she and another officer struggled for control of a firearm after a one-hour standoff at her home, officials said. It happened around 7:37 p.m. on Nov. 10.
Miller’s mother had called 911, officials said. She told dispatchers her daughter was schizophrenic, armed and having a mental health crisis. She later told officers that Miller was suicidal, and had threatened to kill her children and to shoot the police.
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Around 6:20 p.m., Detroit Police officers responded to a 911 call at Miller’s home in the 15770 block of Meyers Road. The call came from Miller’s mother who said her daughter was having a mental health crisis and had become violent, the prosecutor’s office said. Miller’s mother and grandmother were visiting Miller and her children, ages 7 and 1, at the time.
During the call, Miller’s mother said that she and the 7-year-old were “jumped on” by her daughter, officials said. The child’s lip was bleeding. Miller allegedly tried to lock everyone in the house but her mother and grandmother escaped.
Miller’s mother was distraught during the 911 call, officials said. She said her daughter was schizophrenic. Miller’s children were in the house with her, and she was armed; she had come outside with a gun.
“There is a felon with a gun, and she pointed it at me,” Miller’s mother told 911 dispatchers. “Come quickly. It’s my daughter and she is in crisis.”
Officers were dispatched for a mental/violent person, officials said. Miller’s mother was waiting for them when they arrived on scene. A stand-off ensued between Miller and the officers.
Video footage, the officers’ reports and Miller’s cell phone show that several officers spoke with Miller through a locked security door, one of whom was trained in crisis intervention, officials said. The officers attempted to persuade Miller to let them inside to talk or to open the door and let them see how her children were doing. The officers let her know that they wanted to make sure Miller was safe because her mother called them.
In a recording on Miller’s cellphone, she says that the person they spoke to is not her mother, officials said.
Officers were in contact with Miller’s mother by phone from her car, officials said. She told them that Miller was suicidal, had threatened to kill her children, and to shoot the police.
Officers told Miller that they could not leave until they knew that the children were safe. As the stand-off continued, the officers saw Miller had a gun, officials said. Miller told officers that she had a weapon and said they could “shoot it out.”
Miller eventually unlocked the front security door and came out onto her porch. She and “Officer 1″ had a verbal exchange. Immediately after this exchange, “Officer 1″ and “Officer 2″ rushed the door and made entry, official said. It was 7:37 p.m.
Once inside, the officers instructed Miller to freeze and drop the gun. Officer 1′s body cam footage shows that he was speaking with her as they rushed the door, officials said. Officer 1 indicates that Miller did not drop the gun. He struggled over it with her during the shooting.
The body cam footage is dark. Struggling noises can be heard. Officer 1 reported that Miller turned the barrel of the gun toward his head when he tried to gain control of the weapon. As the struggle continued, she hit him in the head with the gun, officials said. He then heard multiple gunshots.
“Officer 3,” “Officer 4” and “Officer 5″ had opened fire. Miller was shot in her upper left arm and twice in her left side. Body cam footage shows a gun under her hand on a stair, officials said.
Officers called out that shots had been fired. Officers 1 and 2 were checked for injuries; Officer 1 was transported to a local hospital for a head injury and a hematoma. He was treated and released later that day. “Officer 6″ went upstairs to check on the children; the 7-year-old boy was holding his 1-year-old sibling.
Officer 2 was uninjured and went to an EMS truck for medical assistance for Miller. Miller was transported to a local hospital and later pronounced dead.
“Under Michigan law, a person can act in self-defense or defense of others if there is an honest and reasonable belief that the use of deadly force is necessary to prevent the imminent death, or imminent bodily harm to himself or another individual,” the prosecutor’s office said. “Under the facts of this case there is insufficient evidence to charge the officers, their actions were justified.”