Bodycam Video: Florida woman stabs officer before fatally shot

Bodycam Video: Florida woman stabs officer before fatally shot
A Florida woman stabbed a police officer and was then fatally shot as she lunged toward another officer, dramatic bodycam video shows.

The footage, released Tuesday, shows Leah Baker, 29, storming out of a northwest Jacksonville home with a knife, surprising Officer Elizabeth Mechling, who had just knocked on the door in response to an April 11 report of a dispute between roommates. Baker lunges toward Mechling and cuts her on the arm, startling the officer, the wild clip shows.

“What the f—k!” Mechling says while stumbling backward onto the street and telling a dispatcher she was stabbed. “Drop the f—king knife! Get on the f—king ground!”

Baker appears to toss the knife in front of her before picking it up again, prompting Mechling to fire two shots, both of which missed, WJXT reports.

“Shots fired!” Mechling says.

A second officer, Sgt. John Nobles, an 18-year Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office veteran, then arrives and demands Baker drop the knife, according to the video.

“Put that f—king knife down right now!” Nobles says.

“Get on the ground, get away from that knife!” Mechling yells.

Baker picks up the knife, which had been at her feet, and lunges toward Noble, who fires four shots, WJXT reports.

Baker fell to the ground, but held onto the knife and started punching a police K-9 that latched onto her leg after the shooting. The dog dragged Baker into the street as officers took her into custody, the station reports.

Baker, whose mother said had mental health issues, was later pronounced dead at a hospital.

“I can’t condone my daughter’s actions, but at the same time, I have fought with different hospitals to get the help she needed,” Charity Baker told
Charity Baker had previously said her daughter had been living in what she thought was a safe space.

Leah Baker, 29, was shot and killed by police after attacking an officer, body cam footage shows.
Leah Baker, 29, was shot and killed by police after attacking an officer, bodycam footage shows.
JSO
“I never thought the police would kill my daughter,” she told the station in July.

An investigation by the State Attorney’s Office determined that the fatal shooting was justified, WJAX reports.

Baker, meanwhile, is survived by a 9-year-old daughter, according to an online fundraiser set up by her cousin to offset funeral costs and launch an education fund for the girl.

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