Independence Kansas Police Shoot and kill Mother, Maria Pike (34) & 2-Month Old Infant (Destinii) in Domestic Dispute Call

[raisedbywolves]

https://kansascitydefender.com/justi...mother-infant/

The tragic chain of events was set into motion in the afternoon of November 7th, when Talisa Coombs, baby Destiny’s grandmother, called the police to report a domestic dispute at the Oval Spring Apartments in Independence. According to Talisa, she had been assaulted by Maria during a heated altercation. She wanted Maria arrested for assault—but what unfolded far exceeded anything she could have imagined.

“I wanted her arrested for assault, not executed,” she told The Defender.

Talisa described to The Defender what happened in the moments leading up to the officer’s raid; “They asked me what happened? I said I was assaulted by my son’s girlfriend. And they asked if there was any weapons upstairs in the apartment. I said, no, but there’s a baby up there, my granddaughter.”

Moments later, officers darted upstairs, the scene immediately escalating in unfathomable fashion, and Talisa would soon learn that her warnings were completely ignored by the police.

Exclusive footage obtained by The Kansas City Defender shows officers storming the building with pistols drawn and at least one cop sprinting up the stairs wielding a military-grade assault rifle.

Their target? A 100-pound petite woman (Maria Pike) holding her infant daughter while in the throes of a domestic altercation.

Witnesses describe a chaotic scene with no visible attempts at de-escalation. Instead of waiting for the mental health co-responder reportedly dispatched to the scene, officers charged into the apartment as if raiding a combat zone.

https://www.kshb.com/news/local-news...ce-baby-mother

Police have only released vague information about the Independence police shooting in early November that killed Maria Pike, 34, and her infant daughter, Destinii.

The family and the public want to know why.

KSHB I-Team reporter Sarah Plake looked at several other recent police shootings in Missouri. It appears in other cases, information usually comes out faster.

The public and the media have had to put two and two together when trying to get answers about what led up to Pike and Destinii's deaths.

Police haven't directly said their officer shot and killed the two or even how they died.

Instead, this is how Chief Adam Dustman phrased it at the news conference he held the day after the shooting:

"Officers encountered a female who ultimately was armed with a knife. As a result of that encounter, it resulted in two fatalities, one to the armed female, one to a child," Dustman said.

[raisedbywolves]

https://www.kshb.com/news/local-news...-support-rally

Chief Dustman last spoke to the media on November 8 at a press conference following the death of Pike and her baby. Two Independence police officers responded to a report of a domestic dispute at Oval Springs Apartments on November 7. On November 27, Independence Police released edited body camera footage from the officer who discharged his weapon. Maria Pike is seen in the footage wielding a knife at officers with Baby Destinii in her arms

"We will have no further comment on the investigation until the conclusion," added Dustman.

Former Independence Police Chief Gary George spoke to approximately 20 residents offering support to the Independence Police Department.

"We're all here today because I've been seeing all the negative out there about IPD on this shooting... It's horrible," said George. "It's horrible that we had a mother and a baby killed."

George told the public it must examine what caused Pike and Destinii's death. He among others, offered condolences to the grieving family.

Following his condolences and acknowledgment of the incident he stated, "Sometimes the victims cause their own demise and what happened to this baby... But, please support the city, especially Chief Dustman and the Independence Police Department."

https://www.kcur.org/news/2024-12-01...-from-incident

The rally on Sunday was organized by the Kansas City Law Enforcement Accountability Project. The group's co-founder Steve Young said police are supposed to put themselves into harm's way to protect people.

“However, on that very day, an officer could care less about putting himself in harm's way to save a 2-month-old baby's life," he said. "'Shoot to kill' was his only thought.”

Young also blasted Independence police for releasing just a fraction of the body cam video without giving the family advance warning.

“I'm not going to let myself fall captive to a heavily edited video that was only released in an attempt to exonerate IPD," he said.

Independence Police released on the day before Thanksgiving a highly edited version of officers' body camera footage from the incident, including about three minutes of a 20-minute incident.

It showed two officers entering the apartment, and finding Pike in a closet holding Destinii. Family members said the closet was converted into a nursery.

The video then jumps ahead and Pike is seen sitting on her bed, still holding the baby. Then, 11 minutes after officers enter the apartment, according to time stamps, Pike suddenly grabs a large kitchen knife and moves toward an officer with the knife over her head, still holding the baby.

The video then stops and what happened next is not shown.

[Boston Babe 73]

Am I surprised? NO. This is what it's become. The police are militarized to the fucking teeth and ENJOY killing civilians.

I seem to remember a time not long ago when killing an unarmed civilian was considered FUCKING MURDER. But hey, it's end stage capitalism where the police only work for themselves and the rich and everyone else is expendable.

DON'T EVER call the police unless you want someone dead. That's the lesson here, kids.