GRAPHIC: Police release partial bodycam video before shooting of mom, infant

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KCTV) - Not three weeks ago, a mother and her 2-month-old baby died in a police-involved shooting. Maria Pike, 34, and her infant child, Destinii Hope, died on the afternoon of Nov. 7.

On Wednesday, the Independence Police Department released an edited video of the moments leading up to their death.

In the video, IPD said it is committed to transparency and released the briefing to provide the “most up-to-date information available from this incident.”

Independence Police said officers had arrived at the Oval Spring Apartments complex at 1:54 p.m. for a physical domestic disturbance.

Destinii’s grandmother had sought help, reporting that Pike was being violent.

The family has previously said they thought Pike would be arrested and given help. They said she had been diagnosed with postpartum depression.

Officers made their way to the apartment and were let inside by the baby’s father.

IPD said officers found Pike inside a bedroom closet, holding baby Destinii. They spoke with her for 11 minutes.

IPD said officers tried multiple times to get her to put the baby down. After she refused, Pike moved to the bed and sat down.

While still holding Destinii, the video shows Pike grabbing a large knife from the nightstand, and moving toward an officer.

The video stops before any gun is fired.

WARNING: The contents of the video may be disturbing to watch. The video includes edits and full screens with text summary from the Independence Police Department. KCTV5 has included the video below in the full context provided by police.

Because the incident is classified as an Officer Involved Shooting, it is being investigated by the Police Involved Incident Team (PIIT).

The Blue Springs Police Department is the lead agency for the investigation. The organization told KCTV5 on Wednesday: “We do not have any updates and are still working toward completing our investigation and submitting our investigative file to the prosecutor’s office.”

The Independence Police Department told KCTV5 that it would not have any comment or conduct any in-person interviews after the video’s release.

The Kansas City Law Enforcement ability Project, a group that focuses on local police violence, released a statement Wednesday evening criticizing the Independence Police Department for the timing of the video’s release.

“It is unconscionable that, after the trauma the families of baby Destinii and mom Maria have endured, the Independence Police Department would release a highly-edited bodycam footage of this tragedy on Thanksgiving Eve,” the organization said. “The thought that IPD could not give the grieving families enough respect or consideration to allow them to have a peaceful holiday, instead releasing the video to the media WITHOUT WARNING, is inexcusable.”

KC LEAP said the video’s release perpetuated the lack of respect for victims of police violence and individuals suffering from mental health issues. The organization also noted the video’s release came less than 24 hours after a rally for justice was held.

“We hope the community will not be deterred by the gaslighting by law enforcement and will the families in their demand for the release of the entire bodycam video,” KC LEAP said, “a transparent and thorough investigation, a review and transformation of department policies, and ability for all responsible for the deaths of Maria and baby Destinii.”

Off-camera, Destinii’s father told KCTV5 he can’t share much, but does want to see the full unedited version of the body camera video from that day.

This new video has so many reliving the emotions from that day.

“I just kind of sat in shock for a little while. It just kind of brought it all back having been there,” said Oval Springs Apartments Assistant Property Manager, Gavin Delaney.

Delaney can be see in the video when officers are knocking on the door, his face is blurred.

He said there was no escalation while he was there and he left about a minute and a half before the shooting occurred.

“You can’t really make any conclusions cause nobody knows what happened except the people that were in that room so I’m just hoping you know once an answer is given that it is soon,” said Delaney. He added, “Property management you see some crazy things this just happened to be one of the things I didn’t expect, and you know being outside of the apartment, being with the family, and then having the memorial vigil that we had I just hope there is some closure for people that need it.”

Just weeks after the incident, a Christmas Tree sits in the clubhouse of Oval Springs Apartments. Teddy bears sit on and around the tree, at the bottom are photos of Pike and Destinii.

“Christmas and them not having their baby and their family is going to be really hard on them so I thought that this would be a little bit of comfort knowing that someone is still honoring them during these hard times. I know the holidays are going to be rough,” said Oval Springs Apartments Property Manager, Carrie Lufkin.

Since the shooting, the apartment complex has provided counseling, a vigil for Pike and Destinii, and for both the adults and children in this community.

“I can’t imagine going through something so tragic and going home to that. So the best thing I can do is offer my love and . It saddens me to no end,” said Lufkin. She added, “We are handling it with delicate hands we are not trying to hide the fact that it happened, everybody knows, we are just trying to provide a safe place so that they have a place to come to if they don’t feel safe.”

She said they will continue to do what they can to ensure a safe environment for everyone and honor the two lives lost.

“The investigation is ongoing we don’t need to speak about that anymore on our part, we are just here for a pillar of and to let our community and the children of our community to know they are safe,” said Lufkin.

Blue Springs Police said they are in the final phases of the investigation but do not have an exact time of when it will be complete.

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