KANSAS CITY, Mo. — A woman with a sword was shot and killed by police last week. On Wednesday, the Kansas City, Missouri Police Department said officers tried to disarm her with non-lethal methods first, but they didn't work.
KCPD released additional details about the June 14 officer-involved shooting that killed Ashley Fulkerson, 28. This was one of two officer-involved shootings that day.
KCPD said officers were in the area of NE 38th and Jackson Street on June 14 doing proactive work related to criminal and drug activity in the area. Officers saw a woman, later identified as Fulkerson, walking down the street with a sword in the direction of a daycare center.
Police said officers tried to talk with Fulkerson, but she ran. KCPD said she tried to get inside several homes before she was able to break into a house and its alarm system went off. Fulkerson locked the door behind her, and officers called a standoff.
KCPD said Fulkerson was in the home for almost an hour and a half when she left and fled into a nearby detached garage, still holding the sword. While she was going from the home to the garage, KCPD said officers used several “less-than-lethal options” to disarm her and get her into custody. Although she was hit several times, they were ineffective, which KCPD said is unusual.
Officers then surrounded the garage. KCPD said officers tried to use negotiators, pepper spray, and beanbag-type rounds to try to get Fulkerson to surrender. Negotiators tried to reach her by phone and through a public address system, but KCPD said she wouldn’t make contact with them.
According to KCPD, at about 4 p.m., after being repeatedly told to disarm, Fulkerson left the garage and ran towards officers with the sword. Officers then fired at her.
KCPD said an ambulance had been placed nearby, and paramedics responded immediately. Fulkerson was pronounced dead at the scene.
Officers recovered a 27-inch steel sword, and no one else was injured. Kansas City police said officers are still collecting witness statements and evidence. Anyone who saw the incident, including the events leading up to it, is encouraged to call the Homicide Unit at 816-234-5148.
The shooting will undergo an independent review by the county prosecutor, the FBI, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office, which is standard.
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