Chandler police release bodycam after officer shoots, kills armed woman

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Chandler Police have released edited body-camera video of the moments leading up to an officer shooting and killing 49-year-old Lorie Martha O’Neal after calls of a loud disturbance at an apartment complex earlier this year.

Police responded to the complex near Dobson and Germann roads on Aug. 1 after a 911 caller reported hearing “banging and popping sounds” from one of the units.

“I just had a whole bunch of glass breaking and go,” the unidentified caller said. “And I just heard like two pops. I don’t know what it is.”

Within a few minutes, officers set up a perimeter around the apartment and contacted the primary tenant.

Police say the man said that his friend, later identified as O’Neal, who had mental health struggles, had been living with him.

He also told police that he had a gun stored inside his closet, which she could have access to.

In the first portion of the video, an officer is across the apartment unit, where police say he had a clear view of the front door.

The edited video begins with that officer saying, “Come out with your hands up! Open and empty! Whatever’s in your hands, drop it!”

He then readjusts his gun and repeats, “Whatever’s in your hands, drop it!”

“Come on. Just work with me on this. Just put it down. We want to help you,” the officer is heard saying in the body-worn video.

He continues, “Just drop whatever’s in your hands and walk out.”

Police also revealed a snapshot of a Chandler police drone capturing an image of what appeared to be O’Neal standing with a gun-shaped black object under the apartment stairwell.

In the critical incident briefing, Chandler Police Detective Eva Zermeño said that officers attempted to try and deescalate the situation for about five minutes.

“Ma’am, put it down! Ma’am, I will shoot you. I don’t want to do it,” the video continued.

He makes similar comments again before saying, “Set it out. Let’s talk this out a different way, but not like this.”

The officer again repeats commands, asking to drop the weapon, but he fires a few seconds later.

Still, O’Neal refused to comply and allegedly pointed the gun in the officer’s direction, prompting an officer to fire due to the safety threat.

However, the bodycam released Friday of that moment only reveals audio leading to the shooting but doesn’t provide a view of O’Neal or the shots being fired.

Zermeño says police provided medical aid until paramedics arrived and pronounced O’Neal dead.