ALTA SIERRA, Calif. — The Nevada County Sheriff's Office released video from a recent incident that shows a deputy shoot and kill a woman in the Alta Sierra community in front of her children.
Ariella Crawford, 33, was killed on Thursday, Feb. 4 after deputies received multiple calls about a woman acting erratically and walking in the middle of Alta Sierra Drive with her two children. In a statement in the video, Nevada County Sheriff Shannan Moon said, "For reasons yet unknown, Ms. Crawford was very upset with the presence of our deputies despite one of them immediately saying she was not in any trouble."
The video released by the sheriff's office consists of dash camera video and audio from 911 calls where people describe Crawford's actions moments before she was stopped by deputies on the side of Names Drive, a residential road.
WARNING: This video contains graphic content. Viewer discretion advised.
In the dash camera footage, Crawford says, "Don't hurt my babies," as one deputy tells her, "I need you to put your knife away." Crawford begins screaming and growing more agitated. At one point in the video, one of her children jumps in between Crawford and deputies and says, "Stop." Both deputies repeatedly tell Crawford to put the knife down, and one deputy is seen with a taser. Crawford runs at the deputy holding the taser, and the other deputy proceeds to fire multiple shots at the woman. Her children can be heard in the video screaming. According to a statement, deputies began medical aid after Crawford dropped the knife, but she died at the hospital of her injuries.
"I want to thank the citizen who stepped in to comfort the children during the traumatic and tragic incident," Sheriff Moon said in the video. "Nevada County Child Protective Services arrived on scene to take custody of the children."
Nevada County District Attorney's Office is investigating the shooting, and no other details are known at this time.
