New York State Attorney General Letitia James’ Office of Special Investigation (OSI) will not press charges against Syracuse Police officers after the death of a 33-year-old Onondaga County woman in October 2021.
Allison Lakie was shot and killed by officers after what was initially reported as a house fire turned out to be a mental health crisis.
The decision by the Attorney General’s Office follows an almost yearlong investigation that included the review of body camera footage, interviews with police officers and civilians, as well as a review of 911 calls, ballistics testing reports, and crime scene evidence, the AG said Friday.
The incident on October 20, 2021 began after the mother of 33-year-old Allison Lakie called 911 to report that Allison was detoxing from alcohol and was in a paranoid state, according to the OSI’s report.
During the call, Allison’s mother requested an ambulance be sent to their Tipperary Hill residence.
When they arrived, Allison’s mother brought emergency personnel into her kitchen, where, after a conversation in which Allison said she did not believe they were real paramedics, Allison revealed she had a knife which she reportedly pointed toward the paramedics, the report said.
The paramedics then left the house and requested police backup and an additional ambulance.
According to the report, Allison’s mother called 911 again about 10 minutes after the first call, and Syracuse Police officers as well as another ambulance arrived.
When officers arrived, the paramedics on scene reported that Allison had pulled an eight-inch knife on them while they were assessing her.
Officers, some of whom were certified in Crisis Intervention Team training, went to the enclosed front porch and began talking with Allison, who was still in the kitchen refusing to come out, and showing the knife, the report says.
Eventually, Allison started a fire in the kitchen of the Tipperary Hill home which grew, prompting officers to call the Syracuse Fire Department.
When the firefighters arrived, they, along with officers, planned to enter the house to extinguish the fire and get Allison out of harm's way, the report said.
According to the report, officers entered the home and told Allison to drop the knives she had in each hand; she did not.
Officers then tried to subdue her with tasers, which were ineffective.
The report says a firefighter then entered the kitchen to put the fire out, resulting in smoke and steam that obstructed the officers’ view.
Allison then came out of the smoke, moving quickly toward the officers with a knife in each hand according to the video, at which point four officers fired their weapons.
According to the report, officers provided aid, including CPR, and helped paramedics put Allison into an ambulance. Life-saving attempts failed, and Allison was pronounced dead at Upstate University Hospital.
In their report, the OSI says under New York law, the defense of justification is raised.
Justification includes reasonably using deadly force to defend oneself or others against a person’s use of deadly physical force.