4 officers shot woman in Tipp Hill home after she lunged with knives at them, firefighter, AG’s office says

A large police presence remains on the 200 block of Ulster Street hours after several emergency calls on Oct. 20, 2021. Anne Hayes | ahayes@syracuse.com
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Syracuse, N.Y. -- Four Syracuse police officers fired the shots that killed a woman Wednesday in a Tipperary Hill home, according to the state Attorney General’s Office.

The 33-year-old woman had lunged at the officers and a firefighter with knives, according to a spokeswoman for the AG’s office. She said the information is preliminary and could change as the shooting is investigated.

The four officers have not yet been named by Syracuse police. Normally, the department releases the names of officers in such cases within about 72 hours. A police department spokesman said the department is not releasing information because the AG’s office requested all inquiries go through the state agency.

Allison Lakie, 33, was shot after officers tried to talk to her inside the home, according to the AG’s office.

Officers initially responded to 216 Ulster St. for a call about a person with a knife, according to the AG’s office. Officers trained in crisis intervention were among those who responded to the call.

Lakie set a fire inside the house and the four officers and a firefighter went into the house in an attempt to put the fire out, an AG spokeswoman said.

When they entered the house, Lakie lunged at officers and the firefighter, according to the AG’s office. The officers then shot her, the AG’s office said.

Lakie was pronounced dead at 4:01 a.m., according to the AG’s office.

The Onondaga County Medical Examiner has yet to determine how many times Lakie was hit, the AG’s office said.

Syracuse police have released very little information about shooting because they say they want to follow the AG’s request to handle the release of all information on the shooting.

The police department’s secrecy contrasts what many other police departments are doing across New York State when an officer has killed someone and the state AG’s office takes over the investigation. It is also a change in policy for the Syracuse police.

In the past, the Syracuse Police Department has often released details about what happened the same day, held a news conference within 24 hours to release more information and then answered questions.

The department is free to tell the public what happened when they kill someone. The AG’s office does not bar police agencies from releasing information to the public in such cases, according to a spokeswoman for the office who asked not to be identified. The office has no legal capacity to order departments not to release information, she said.

Police in other cities such as Rochester, Buffalo and New York have shared with the public information when police fatally shoot or kill someone, according to a Syracuse.com | The Post-Standard review of recent cases taken over by the AG’s office.

Between April 1 and Aug. 21, the AG’s office has investigated nine fatal police shootings. In all cases, the local police department or the state police provided details about what happened.

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