INDEPENDENCE, Mo. — 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.
Dustman said a "third-party caller called 911" about a domestic violence disturbance with a possible assault.
He would not answer reporters when they asked if the officer shot the baby.
"The situation escalated to where it ultimately resulted in those fatalities," Dustman said.
He also said, "Per normal protocols, the officer that fired, and there was one that fired, is on administrative leave."
Later in the news conference, he said, "No officer ever comes to work expecting or wanting to take a life."
The Eastern Jackson County Police Involved Investigation Team is taking on the investigation with Blue Springs police as the lead.
That's the normal protocol after police officers use deadly force—they don't investigate their own shooting.
Blue Springs hasn't given us any further information about what happened that day, either.
However, in other police shootings, we normally know the basics either the day of or within a few days.
For example, on Nov. 9, Missouri State Highway Patrol released a fairly detailed description of a Raytown police shooting on the same day. It included what happened leading up to the shooting, including the suspect's alleged actions, and that a Raytown officer fired his weapon and struck the suspect.
On Oct. 25, Highway Patrol took over a police shooting in Camden County and released information from its preliminary investigation that day.
We also received basic information on the day of an Independence shooting on Feb. 22 at 700 N. Frandsen. The IPD spokesperson sent out a news release four hours after it happened. It was clearly stated officers fired their weapons, striking the suspect.
In February 2022, whenIndependence police shot Tyrea Pryor on 24 Highway, we knew some details about what led up to the shooting and that officers shot him.
In Nov. 2022, police shot a man outside a gas station in Independence. We received some information about the use of force that morning.
We also got basic information from the Highway Patrol on the same day of police shootings in Kansas City in April 2023 at 27th & Brighton, in May 2023 at 1800 West Pennway, and in June 2020 near 23rd & Lister.
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