Killing by Seattle police raises questions on use of force

SEATTLE (AP) — Two Seattle police officers who shot and killed a pregnant woman inside her apartment had less-lethal options and had been trained to deal with people showing signs of mental illness and other behavior crises.

Authorities say Lyles confronted the officers with two kitchen knives — less than two weeks after she had threatened officers with long metal shears when they responded to a domestic disturbance at her home.

The killing raised new questions about use of force by Seattle police as the department remains under federal oversight following a 2011 investigation that found officers were too quick to use it All Seattle officers now receive training on how to better handle people with mental illness or have been abusing drugs.

Officials say the officers had at least one less-lethal way to handle the woman they knew had a previous volatile encounter with law enforcement and had been having mental health issues.

Near the beginning of a roughly four-minute police audio recording of the incident and before they reached the apartment, the officers discussed an "officer safety caution" about the address involving the previous law enforcement interaction.

The officers talked about the woman previously having large metal shears, trying to prevent officers from leaving her apartment and making "weird statements" about her and her daughter turning into wolves.