Woman carrying a knife shot by armed officers – Merseyside Police, July 2020

On 9 July 2020, Merseyside Police received reports of a woman walking down the street in possession of a knife. A witness had reported the woman appeared to be throwing street furniture over. Another witness stated the woman continued to walk with purpose while holding the knife. The incident log was passed to the Force Incident Manager (FIM), who responded that in the first instance, it was appropriate for officers wearing body armour and using correct personal protective equipment including a Taser, to attend and conduct an assessment. Two authorised firearms officers stated they heard radio transmissions about the deployment and while they had not specifically been deployed, they agreed to support their colleagues as they too carried a Taser. The authorised firearms officers attended and informed the woman that they were armed police. They shouted instructions to the woman to drop the weapon. One firearms officer drew their Taser. …