When you’re Black, calling the police for help might just be the last thing you ever do.
Niani Finlayson dialed 911 with hopes of being protected from a crazed ex-boyfriend who was attacking her inside her Lancaster, California home. The 27-year-old, “reported that her boyfriend would not leave her alone and then screaming and sounds of a struggle could be heard”, according to a report in The Guardian. An injured Finlayson was trying her best to fend off the attack while also protecting her 9-year-old daughter when the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Deputy arrived. The circumstances surrounding what happened next aren’t fully known as police have refused to release the body camera footage but the one incontrovertible fact is that the deputy shot Finlayson dead.
An LASD statement accuses Finlayson of possessing a knife and threatening the ex-boyfriend, which makes all the sense in the world considering that she was under attack. However, the deputy, Ty Shelton, thought it prudent to kill her rather than de-escalate the situation and take the ex-boyfriend into custody. Apparently, this is the SECOND person that Shelton has killed under similar circumstances. Finlayson’s 9-year-old daughter Xaisha spoke at a press conference about what it was like to witness her mother be gunned down.
“The police lied that my mom was threatening them,” Xaisha said at a press conference on Thursday alongside her grandparents, calling for Shelton to be prosecuted. “She was my best friend. She was always there for me. It’s unbelievable that she’s gone and she’s not coming back. I miss my mom.” The girl said her two-year-old sister continues to ask where their mother is and she doesn’t know how to respond.
According to KTLA, the family has filed a $30 million lawsuit against Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department and L.A. County.
“How could it be?” said Tracy Hall, the woman’s mother. “We’re supposed to depend on the law to protect us or at least try to protect us the best they can but it seems like their heart was not there. They chose to do something different and devastate everyone’s lives that were impacted.”
Let’s just say Finlayson did have a knife and was threatening to stab the ex-boyfriend, as the victim of domestic violence, it would have been a perfect time to use less-than-lethal force in the form of a taser to stop her and then put the man in handcuffs.
Rest in peace to this young sista. Prayers up for her family and daughters. We hope they extract every red cent out of that $30 million out of the LASD coffer.
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