Bossip
Video
Source:
Douglas
Sacha
/
Getty
When
you’re
Black,
calling
the
police
for
help
might
just
be
the
last
thing
you
ever
do.
Niani
Finlayson
dialed
911
with
hopes
of
being
protected
from
a
crazed
ex-boyfriend
who
was
attacking
her
inside
her
Lancaster,
California
home.
The
27-year-old,
“reported
that
her
boyfriend
would
not
leave
her
alone
and
then
screaming
and
sounds
of
a
struggle
could
be
heard”,
according
to
a
report
in
The
Guardian.
An
injured
Finlayson
was
trying
her
best
to
fend
off
the
attack
while
also
protecting
her
9-year-old
daughter
when
the
Los
Angeles
County
Sheriff’s
Deputy
arrived.
The
circumstances
surrounding
what
happened
next
aren’t
fully
known
as
police
have
refused
to
release
the
body
camera
footage
but
the
one
incontrovertible
fact
is
that
the
deputy
shot
Finlayson
dead.
An
LASD
statement
accuses
Finlayson
of
possessing
a
knife
and
threatening
the
ex-boyfriend,
which
makes
all
the
sense
in
the
world
considering
that
she
was
under
attack.
However,
the
deputy,
Ty
Shelton,
thought
it
prudent
to
kill
her
rather
than
de-escalate
the
situation
and
take
the
ex-boyfriend
into
custody.
Apparently,
this
is
the
SECOND
person
that
Shelton
has
killed
under
similar
circumstances.
Finlayson’s
9-year-old
daughter
Xaisha
spoke
at
a
press
conference
about
what
it
was
like
to
witness
her
mother
be
gunned
down.
“The
police
lied
that
my
mom
was
threatening
them,”
Xaisha
said
at
a
press
conference
on
Thursday
alongside
her
grandparents,
calling
for
Shelton
to
be
prosecuted.
“She
was
my
best
friend.
She
was
always
there
for
me.
It’s
unbelievable
that
she’s
gone
and
she’s
not
coming
back.
I
miss
my
mom.”
The
girl
said
her
two-year-old
sister
continues
to
ask
where
their
mother
is
and
she
doesn’t
know
how
to
respond.
According
to
KTLA,
the
family
has
filed
a
$30
million
lawsuit
against
the
Los
Angeles
County
Sheriff’s
Department
and
L.A.
County.
“How
could
it
be?”
said
Tracy
Hall,
the
woman’s
mother.
“We’re
supposed
to
depend
on
the
law
to
protect
us
or
at
least
try
to
protect
us
the
best
they
can
but
it
seems
like
their
heart
was
not
there.
They
chose
to
do
something
different
and
devastate
everyone’s
lives
that
were
impacted.”
Let’s
just
say
Finlayson
did
have
a
knife
and
was
threatening
to
stab
the
ex-boyfriend,
as
the
victim
of
domestic
violence,
it
would
have
been
a
perfect
time
to
use
less-than-lethal
force
in
the
form
of
a
Taser
to
stop
her
and
then
put
the
man
in
handcuffs.
Rest
in
peace
to
this
young
sista.
Prayers
up
for
her
family
and
daughters.
We
hope
they
extract
every
red
cent
out
of
that
$30
million
out
of
the
LASD
coffer.
