Cops shoot pregnant woman who won't get on the ground

When a mother of three stopped to grab ice cream for her children last week in Kansas City, Missouri, she never expected that she and her children would witness police shooting an unarmed pregnant lady. However, according to Shé Danja, this is precisely what happened.

Shé Danja, who refused to provide her last name out of fear of police persecution, took out her phone and filmed the event as it happened. The footage seems to indicate that Leonna Hale, 26, was unarmed when she was shot five times by Kansas City police officers.

Immediately after shooting her, authorities reported that a firearm was found at the site. However, it did not seem that Hale was holding it, and according to the eyewitness, Hale informed police that there was a gun in the car, but it was distant from her when she was shot.

The incident occurred on Friday, May 27, when police were reportedly searching for a suspect in a carjacking. According to the police, a car matching the description of the stolen vehicle was discovered at the 6th Street Family Dollar.

When police approached the vehicle, the male driver disembarked and fled on foot, while Hale remained at the scene. Hale then cooperated with police and exited the vehicle as instructed.

According to Shé Danja, who was interviewed by the Kansas City Star, "the police urged the lady to get on the ground, but she informed them that she was pregnant and so could not go on the ground." The cops requested her to get down many times, but she refused. The lady then alerted authorities that the car had a firearm.

The lady started to retreat toward a parking lot barrier. Numerous cops pulled their firearms as they approached. Shé Danja said, "She did not bring out a weapon on them." "She lacked even a stick in her hand." Shé Danja said that policemen fired five shots after the lady retreated three paces from them.

"One, two, three, four, and finally five. I remember it because it never stopped. They fired five times, according to Shé Danja of the Star. "I froze when I saw her fall to the ground," she added. She repeatedly questioned police why they shot the lady, but authorities refused to respond.

One of the responding cops then forcibly removed Shé Danja from the scene, despite her assurances that her kid was still inside the business.

The footage shows Hale laying on the ground as blood begins to seep through her clothes. Instead of providing her with medical treatment, the officers arrest her. She was finally rushed to the hospital with life-threatening injuries and remains in critical but stable condition, according to the police. The unknown is the state of her unborn kid.

After police shot Hale, Interim Police Chief Joseph Mabin spoke before the media and said that the department is "dedicated to being 100 percent transparent and completely cooperating with the Highway Patrol," which is now in charge of the investigation.

"We never want to be in circumstances like this," Mabin told reporters. "Not the general public, as a police agency. Each occurrence is a blemish on our town. I wish to safeguard the safety of the public at the site. There is no continuous danger... This weekend is a holiday. "Now is the moment for friends, not for violence."

However, as Toriano Porter notes in an opinion piece for the Kansas City Star, "no one was aggressive in the parking lot that night other than the cops."

According to the Missouri State Highway Patrol, the inquiry might take weeks or possibly months to complete.