On a domestic dispute call, a woman pulls out a knife on Hyde Park police before being fatally shot

Jamie Feith appeared to draw a knife on police officers responding to a domestic dispute at a home in this Dutchess County town before a state trooper shot and killed her last April, body cam footage released Tuesday by the state attorney general’s office shows.

Around 3:30 p.m. on April 29, 2022, Hyde Park police were called to a home on North Cross Road due to an ongoing physical domestic dispute. State Police also responded to assist. Upon arrival, Hyde Park officers Joshua Kemlage and Bryan Sweeney and Trooper Christopher Miller of the State Police Troop K unit in Rhinebeck successfully de-escalated an altercation between Feith and an unidentified man, according to a release sent by the State Police afterward.

According to the State Police, as the officers interviewed Feith, she armed herself with a knife and attempted to stab the officers. An unidentified officer deployed a Taser before Hyde Park Officer Kemlage fired his weapon, striking Feith, 34. She was pronounced dead at the scene.

In New York, incidents in which civilians are killed during encounters with police are subject to review by the state attorney general. On Tuesday, the attorney general’s Office of Special Investigation released footage from a body camera worn by Trooper Miller of the State Police.

The video, which is graphic, opens with footage of an unidentifiable officer walking Feith from a bedroom into the living room when she appears to pull a knife from her pants. The officer tackles her to the ground, but Feith fights him off and walks into the kitchen. There, she encounters at least three officers with weapons drawn, the video shows. One of the officers fires a stun gun, but Feith remains on her feet and continues to approach the officers, ignoring commands to drop the knife and get down.

At that point, Officer Kemlage fires four shots at Feith, who falls to the ground, according to the video. A man can be heard yelling in distress as the shooting unfolds. Fewer than 20 seconds elapse between when Feith pulled the knife and when Kemlage shot her.