Clayton County police shared video footage Monday from a shooting that left one of the department’s officers seriously injured last week.
The video, which is censored but may still be disturbing to some viewers, shows Officer Demika Lloyd as she responded to the home of 25-year-old Aiyanah Pryor after dispatchers received multiple calls about a suicidal person at the Newbury Drive address. In the footage, Lloyd attempts to wrestle a gun away from the woman, who fires multiple times.
According to police, the complete footage shows that no one attempted to help Lloyd as she lay on the ground injured. She was only given assistance when additional officers arrived at the scene, police said.
Police identified the woman with the gun as Pryor, who was later shot and seriously injured by Atlanta police after a search.
Lloyd was taken to Grady Memorial Hospital with life-threatening injuries, according to police. She was considered stable but was “still fighting for recovery” Monday, a Clayton police spokeswoman said.
Pryor was taken to Wellstar Atlanta Medical Center in critical condition but was considered stable Thursday. Police have not provided further updates on her condition.
Before she was shot, Lloyd had responded to the home once before with paramedics, Channel 2 Action News reported. During that earlier visit from emergency medical personnel, Pryor refused assistance, her brother Marcus Martin told the news station.
When Lloyd returned to the house on her own, she tried to disarm Pryor and was shot.
Pryor’s family members told Channel 2 they believed the situation was mishandled by police.
“You don’t know what this woman is going through, and you just came in and jumped on her in her house. I’m not understanding,” Martin told Channel 2.
In the video footage, Lloyd enters the house alone searching for Pryor, calling out to her by her first name. The video angle switches to a security camera outside the back door where a woman, who police identified as Pryor, can be seen holding a gun. After a brief verbal exchange between Lloyd and Pryor, the officer lunges at the gun-wielding woman in an attempt to disarm her.
As the two women grapple, the gun fires multiple times, hitting Lloyd. Throughout the incident, Lloyd never moved to draw her gun.
Lloyd has worked for the police department for less than two years and is assigned to the night shift. Clayton police Chief Kevin Roberts praised her work and said “she will be successful moving forward, and we’re praying for her good recovery.”
After the initial shooting, Pryor was believed to have traveled north on I-75 in a black Jeep, the Clayton chief said. When Pryor’s car was found near a school on Polar Rock Road, officers approached her and ordered her to show her hands. An Atlanta police spokesman said she fired at least one shot at the approaching officers and they returned fire. No other officers were injured.
The GBI was asked to conduct a separate investigation into the Polar Rock Road shooting and confirmed APD’s account of events. It was the 71st officer-involved shooting the state agency has investigated this year.
About the Author
