By Ole Braatelien November 30, 2024 at 12:42pm
Missouri police released footage Wednesday of an officer-involved shooting that left a mother and her baby dead, The Kansas City Star reported.
The footage, which was heavily edited, has left the family questioning the shooting of 34-year-old Maria Pike and her 2-month old daughter Destinii.
The video shared by the Independence Police Department can be viewed below.
WARNING: The following video contains images that some may find offensive.
The tragedy unfolded Nov. 7, when two IPD officers responded to a domestic disturbance at the Oval Springs Apartments in Independence, Missouri, according to the IPD’s statement.
After speaking with Pike’s grandmother, who had made the call, IPD made their way inside the complex before knocking on Pike’s door.
Following a brief exchange, the baby’s father, Mitchell Holder, allowed the police into the apartment.
The officers went inside and found Pike in the closet holding her baby. Pike didn’t want to leave the closet or set the baby down, despite one officer’s request, according to the statement.
Pike then made her way to the bed to sit down, which was not part of the officers’ instructions.
On top of the nightstand next to the bed was a large knife.
At one point in the footage Pike grabbed the knife — while still holding the baby — held it over her head and stepped toward the officers, forcing one to shoot, killing Pike and the baby.
The gaps in the footage have left Pike’s family with unanswered questions.
Further increasing the family’s scrutiny, the IPD did not contact them for 10 days after the incident and didn’t release the bodycam footage until nearly three weeks later in a video news briefing, according to The Kansas City Star.
The Kansas City Law Enforcement Accountability Project also criticized the IPD’s edited footage.
“We are again reminded of the complete lack of respect for victims of police violence, for those suffering from mental health issues, and for the cruel and inhumane treatment shown to certain members of our community,” KC LEAP wrote in a statement.
Pike may have been experiencing symptoms of postpartum issues, something she dealt with when she had her first child, according to her twin sister, Nina Book.
“On the last phone call, she described as, out of nowhere, she would have sadness and anger just hit her like a truck,” Book told WDAF-TV in Kansas City.
“She had told me years ago when she had her first son that she went through the same symptoms of postpartum when she gave birth to her son. I knew she was going to have it again. This time she took medication for it,” she said.
The Holder family — the family of the baby’s father — has retained an attorney and is seeking to review full body camera footage from the shooting, The Kansas City Star reported.
“I want accountability. I want responsibility on the cop, and whoever else was responsible for their deaths,” Book told WDAF-TV.
“Masha was very talented. She was bright and intelligent. She loved to cook. She was great at it. She was proud of her Russian history. She loved all of her children. It didn’t matter if they were close to her or not. She would light up in the room when she was in the room with other people’s kids. She was good with kids.”
Ole Braatelien has written for The Western Journal since 2022. He earned his bachelor’s from ASU’s Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication.
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