Family of Independence infant describe moments before officerinvolved shooting
Nov 11, 2024
INDEPENDENCE, Mo. — Independence police haven't said directly whether a baby was killed by police along with her mom Thursday, only saying an officer-involved shooting resulted in the deaths of a woman and child.
Now the family is talking for the first time about the incident that Independence Police Chief Adam Dustman acknowledged in a Friday press conference has torn a family apart.
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The 11-week old baby's grandmother says she called police for help, and now accuses them of killing a mother and child.
According to family, Missouri's Division of Family Services was notified about baby Destiny's living situation shortly after she was born. Independence Police said they couldn't confirm any social service agency's involvement and the department says it can only release information about cases once the investigation is complete.
"My mom wanted to be there during the whole time to help take care of Destiny because she knew that they both had mental issues," Felisha Holder, Destiny's aunt, said.
Destiny's grandmother Talisa Coombs went to Oval Spring Apartments Thursday to try to see her grandchild after talking with her son, but it led to a physical confrontation with the baby's mother.
"My mom called the cops. She called them to help her, and of course she's going to press charges, she just got beat up," Holder said of the initial call police described as a domestic disturbance with a possible assault.
According to family, they've been told by the baby's father that the police officer was telling the mother not to move the baby's head the way she was shortly before a shot, or shots, were fired. Police say she had a knife. Several witnesses have told FOX4 they saw the officer carry a bleeding lifeless baby from the apartment to a patrol car. Both the baby and mother died. Investigators have yet to release the woman's name.
"Even if there was a knife, he shouldn't have shot. There was a baby in a mentally unstable woman's arms," Holder said.
"That innocent child shouldn't have been killed like that and her mother shouldn't have been shot. They should have tased her, some other kind of way. That woman weighed, I'm just guessing, probably 100 pounds," Coombs said.
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Four days later, the family says they haven't heard anything since from Independence police. They also have no more answers from a team of Eastern Jackson County detectives who have taken over the investigation as to what exactly prompted the officer to shoot.
"I've been crying so much. I just don't want to cry anymore," Holder said.
But they are convinced one of the bullets struck the baby girl.
"A taser is right there on his belt, that would have been way better than shooting baby Destiny," Holder said.
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FOX4 will continue to ask the team of detectives leading this investigation for things like the autopsy results and body camera video which might provide more details about exactly what happened inside that apartment.