ST PAUL, Minn — Officers with the St. Paul police department responded to a call for a suicide in progress Monday evening. While responding, they found a woman inside a home in the Payne-Phalen neighborhood.
A spokesperson for the department says that woman pulled a gun and pointed it at officers. They fired at her, and she was pronounced dead on the scene.
"These incidents are the last, these are not something that officers ever want to encounter," Sergeant Mike Ernster with the St. Paul Police Department said.
Ernster says the department employs three people who help in mental health situations, but they typically work a day shift. For mental health calls that come in after that, Ernster says officers will try to stabilize individuals so their mental health unit can check in the next day.
"That takes time, and it sounds like in this situation, there wasn't a luxury of time if it was in progress," Rachael Peterson, a mental health expert, said.
Peterson is a former police officer, and now works in the mental health industry.
"When we have someone that wants to harm themselves, all of our focus goes on to how can I get there as fast as I can, so that I can create an intervention to hopefully interrupt that process," Peterson said.
The full details of what happened will be released in the coming weeks. Ernster says SPPD hopes to release body camera video of the incident soon.
While Peterson doesn't know the full details on what happened, what's clear is these situations are difficult for all.
"It is a devastating event for every person involved," Peterson said. "Because you ask a dispatcher, you ask a therapist, you ask a police officer, you ask community members, everyone suffers from this kind of loss."
Three St. Paul city councilmembers have called for the release of that video. Mayor Melvin Carter says the department will work with the BCA to ensure a thorough and transparent investigation.
Watch more local news:
Watch the latest local news from the Twin Cities and across Minnesota in our YouTube playlist: