A woman who was fatally shot by Athens police last week shouted several times that she had a knife and a gun before charging at an officer, body camera footage shows.
The Athens-Clarke County Police Department released the footage Thursday that shows the moment Officer Lamar Glenn shot Bonny Thomas in an Athens neighborhood.
The shooting happened shortly after 10 a.m. Oct. 14 in front of a home in the 100 block of Chalfont Drive, officials said.
Officers were sent to the home on an “unspecified 911 call,” AJC.com previously reported.
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In the video, Glenn arrives at the home and spots Thomas, who is holding a knife.
“I think she’s flagging me down here,” Glenn can be heard saying to dispatch while in his patrol car. “She’s got a knife in her hand.”
Glenn then gets out of the car and tells Thomas to put the knife down three times. She begins walking toward Glenn with the knife raised. He then asks dispatch to send another officer to the location.
Thomas can be heard saying, “I have a gun and a knife” as she continues to walk toward the officer.
The video shows Glenn start to back up while telling Thomas to put the weapon down. Thomas then cries out and begins running toward the officer. A second later, a gunshot rings out and Thomas falls to the ground, face down.
Thomas is heard screaming, then she falls silent.
“Shots fired, central,” Glenn says into his radio. “Central, send EMS.”
He then tells Thomas, who is still on the ground, to stay calm.
“Ma’am, stay with us,” he says. “Stay with us.”
Thomas was taken to a hospital, where she died. No officers were injured during the incident.
The GBI was called in to investigate.
Glenn has been employed by the police department for 29 years, officials said. He was placed on administrative leave with pay while the incident is being investigated.
The shooting was the 68th officer-involved investigation the GBI opened this year, and the fifth for Athens-Clarke County.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution also tracks officer-involved shootings that don't involve the GBI, and those numbers sometimes differ from the GBI’s tally.
