New body camera footage is showing the moments a Miami-Dade deputy fatally shot a woman in a crisis who was armed with a knife back in February.
The incident happened Feb. 7 at a home in the 18900 block of Northwest 55th Avenue when deputies responded to a 911 call from someone who said their mother was locked in a bathroom and possibly harming herself with a knife.
“My mom is in the bathroom, I don’t know what she’s doing but she’s whimpering and I think she’s hurting herself,” the caller said in a video released by the Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office on Wednesday.
When deputies arrived, the woman, identified as 52-year-old Karen Ivette Gomez, was still locked in the bathroom, officials said.
Gomez said she’d cut herself but refused to open the door for deputies, telling them to break it, authorities said.
“Come outside, ma’am,” one deputy is heard saying.
“No,” Gomez responds.
“We’re here to help you,” deputies continue, as Gomez replies, “No, there’s no more help. I can’t with this anymore.”
After several minutes, a deputy kicked open the door, and Gomez began walking toward a deputy with the knife raised above her head, officials said.
“Drop the knife, drop the knife,” deputies shout.
One deputy deployed a taser, but authorities say Gomez continued advancing while armed. At that point, another deputy fired his service weapon, striking Gomez.
Gomez, who was shot twice and had self-inflicted cuts to both of her wrists, was taken to a local hospital where she later died, officials said.
No deputies were harmed during the encounter. A 12-inch kitchen knife was recovered from the scene, authorities said.
Family members later told NBC6 Gomez was having problems with her husband and was suicidal.
They said she was in need of help, not deadly force.
“She was my mom, and nobody deserves to call for help and get shot,” her daughter, Natalie Gomez, said in a previous interview.
The Florida Department of Law Enforcement is investigating, which is standard practice in police shootings.
If you or someone you know is in crisis, call or text 988 to reach the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline or chat live at 988lifeline.org. You can also visit SpeakingOfSuicide.com/resources for additional support.