Police ID Woman Killed By Officer Who Says She Came At Him With Knife [UPDATED]

EAST AUSTIN, TX — Police on Thursday identified the woman killed by a police officer after allegedly walking toward him after a car chase while brandishing a knife. The woman was identified as Morgan Rankins. Police also corrected the woman's age after initially reporting she was 25. Rankins was 30 years old at the time of her death.

Pastor Joseph Parker of David Chapel Missionary Baptist Church told the Austin American-Statesman that Rankins was active in the church. He also told the newspaper the young woman suffered from mental illness, although he didn't specify a malady. He noted the woman took medication to treat her mental illness.

Austin police have come under fire after a series of officer-related shootings in the way they handle encounters with the mentally ill and how they approach interactions with such suspects. Just this past Friday, the city doled out $3.25 million in a settlement to the family of David Joseph, 17, killed last February after being fatally shot by an officer. Geoffrey Freeman, the since-fired officer who killed the youth, claimed he feared for his life after the child ran toward him — unarmed and unclothed while acting erratically and speaking incoherently in what was believed to be due to some sort of mental breakdown.

From Feb. 22:

SOUTH AUSTIN, TX — A woman was fatally shot by an officer Wednesday afternoon after police said she tried running over three other officers after a chase when she allegedly approached them with a knife.

The suspect, a 25-year-old woman, has no been identified. No officers were injured as a result of the incident, police Chief Brian Manley said during a news briefing.

The incident began with calls made to 911 shortly before 6 p.m. from an address in the 7900 block of Appomattox Drive, including one where someone could be hear in the background saying someone wanted to blow up the house, the chief said.

A pair of officers showed up at the one and a dashboard camera is said to show a Dodge Charger back out of the driveway and accelerate as the car drove toward the officers, forcing them to jump out of the way, the chief explained. Police then gave chase, aided by a police helicopter in the air.

“At this point, we have no idea what the original call was that we were responding to,” Manley told reporters. “Our officers just know that someone tried to run them over.”

The woman crashed her car into another vehicle at Manchaca Road and Willanon Cannon Drive at one poing during the chase, according to the chief. As an officer set up road spikes in an effort to disable the vehicle, the woman drove past and tried running the officer over, according to police. The officer is seen jumping out of the way to avoid being hit, Manley added.

The chase ended when the woman struck a telephone pole. According to the police, the woman approached the officer with a knife as she got out of the car. The chief said the officer then shot the woman after she ignored several commands to stop.

Manley said it was still unknown how many times the woman was shot by police. Despite life-saving measures taken, the woman died at the scene.

The officer who did the shooting has been on the force for four years, the chief said. He was placed on administrative leave while the investigation is conducted per protocol whenever there is an officer-involved shooting.

Charley Wilkison, the executive director of the Combined Law Enforcement Associations of Texas, tweeted that the woman approached the officer with a knife also, echoing Manley's assessment.

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