Police release body cam footage of woman killed by St. Paul officers
Video shows woman point gun at officers before they opened fire
Updated: 5:03 p.m.
The St. Paul police department released body cam videos Friday from officers who shot and killed a woman earlier this week.
On Monday, officers responded to a call that a woman in a home on Rose Avenue was attempting suicide. According to the 911 transcript released by the department, a woman told dispatchers that her daughter is “committing suicide,” gives her address and says “Hurry please!” before ending the call.
Video shows three officers entering a house through an open front door and walking to the back of the home after hearing a woman call out to them. In a bedroom they found two women sitting on the floor.
According to the BCA, the woman who called out to officers was the mother of the woman later identified as Pepsi Heinl, 41. The mother is visibly upset and tells the officers, “she was turning blue in her mouth,” referring to Heinl. And the mother said Heinl was “not OK.”
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An officer can be heard asking if Heinl had taken any drugs.
Seconds later, Heinl reaches under a blanket and produces a gun. She rises to her feet and points the pistol in the direction of the officers as Heinl’s mother, whose face is digitally obscured, appears to reach out to Heinl to try and stop her. All three officers immediately open fire on Heinl, who collapses on a bed.
According to the BCA, the officers administered “life saving care” to Heinl, but she was later pronounced dead at the scene. Officers later recovered a handgun.
The three St. Paul police officers who fired their department-issued handguns were identified by the BCA as:
Chiking Chazonkhueze, who has three-and-a-half years of law enforcement experience
Chee Lao, who has three months of law enforcement experience
Yengkong Lor, who has three years of law enforcement experience
Chief of Police Axel Henry said all officers involved in the shooting had undergone mental health crisis prevention training.
“Here in St. Paul, even preceding me, we took the approach that every officer should be trained in those things and that is the approach that we’ve taken for the last six or eight years,” Henry said. “So that's been our effort.”
Henry said the call was a general 911 call and were not able to get specialized mental health responders to the scene before it escalated.
"I’m struck by the fact that we went from a situation where an officer leaned over a person, being very empathetic and asking ‘How are you? How can I help you?’ and seeing how quickly things can change,” he said.
Henry says there was no mention of weapons to the officers before they arrived.
St. Paul Mayor Melvin Carter issued a statement Tuesday offering “prayers and condolences to the family and friends of the deceased, our grieving community members, and every member of our Saint Paul Police Department as we mourn this loss. While many questions remain, the call our officers faced last night illustrates the dangerous and dynamic nature of the work they perform on our behalf.”
Three St. Paul City Council members — Hwa Jeong Kim, Nelsie Yang and Cheniqua Johnson — also issued a statement Tuesday, offering prayers and support for Heinl’s family and calling for the swift release of body camera footage “to support healing and continued transparency.”
Records show Heinl is also known as Pepsi Benjamin. According to a funeral home obituary, Benjamin was born in Duluth, attended Century College and worked most recently as a security officer. The obituary also says Benjamin is survived by her parents, sister and her son as well as multiple relatives. Tribal rites are scheduled for this weekend in McGregor.