RICHMOND, Va. — The best friend of Richmond mother Jazmin Wooten-Mitchell, who was killed by police last week, says officers should have used crisis intervention tactics instead of deadly force when they responded to her apartment.
Regina Lewis, who was on the phone with Wooten-Mitchell during the May 7 incident, said she heard the events unfold as police shot and killed her friend of more than 20 years.
"Crisis prevention. They're supposed to have training for things of this nature," Lewis said. "One thing I've read about, Google, the internet tells you before they can go out in the field, they're supposed to have training on hostile situations and crisis situations. It's no way they should have came up their guns a blazing if she wasn't shooting at them."
Lewis, who has been Wooten-Mitchell's best friend since fourth grade, said she initially didn't realize how serious the situation had become.
"I know how it started when you hear somebody shooting up an apartment, or you're seeing bullets come through the hallway, you're thinking about people's lives. You're thinking about the kids outside, or the people that's around," Lewis said. "Me personally, I didn't want nobody to go there and they get shot. We really didn't take it as serious as we should, because I didn't think at first that, oh, she going to shoot at whoever comes to the door."
Meanwhile, Wooten-Mitchell's daughter Iyannah, who turns 11 on Tuesday, is grieving the loss of her mother.
"She was kind of like a best friend to me," Iyannah said. "I felt comfortable coming around her to tell her stuff. I had made her a Mother's Day card, but I didn't get to give it to her."
The Shooting
A Richmond police officer shot and killed the 31-year-old mother of two after responding to a shots-fired call at her apartment.
Wooten-Mitchell was pronounced dead at her third-floor apartment in the 4000 block of Midlothian Turnpike.
Officers received a 911 call for a shooting in progress at the Belt Atlantic Apartments at 6:47 p.m.
As officers arrived, they heard additional gunshots and were directed by bystanders to Wooten-Mitchell's apartment, according to Richmond police.
While climbing the stairwell, officers heard 4 gunshots before one officer confronted Wooten-Mitchell, who was holding a gun. The officer ordered her to drop her weapon before shooting her, police said.
Only 4 minutes passed between the initial 911 call and officers ordering Wooten-Mitchell to stop and put the gun down.
Crime Insider sources say bullets were striking the walls and penetrating her apartment door before officers reached her.
Wooten-Mitchell's children were not in the apartment when the shooting occurred, and no one else was injured.
Family Says Woman Was in Crisis
Family members say Wooten-Mitchell had recently lost the father of one of her children and was in crisis at the time of the shooting.
Her family says she was grieving when she made a social media post that raised concerns about her. The post read: "I love y'all I'm checking out."
Wooten-Mitchell is survived by a 7-month-old son and Iyannah.
A GoFundMe was activated to help cover costs for the children.
Investigation Continues
The officer who fired the weapon has been placed on paid administrative leave, which is standard protocol in shootings like this.
The Richmond Commonwealth's Attorney will determine whether the officer broke the law.
If cleared, an internal investigation will follow to determine if any policies were violated.
Richmond Police Chief Rick Edwards says his department will be transparent with the community.
"We're in the process of interviewing witnesses, reviewing camera footage, reviewing body camera footage," Edwards said in the hours after the shooting. "Since this is a fatal officer-involved shooting, within the next two weeks, we will be releasing a video of this incident."
This is a developing story. Email the CBS 6 Newsroom if you have additional information to share.
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