WAUKESHA, Wis. — Edited body camera footage obtained by TMJ4 News on Wednesday reveals the moment leading up to a deadly officer-involved shooting in Waukesha on Dec. 14, 2022.
Two Waukesha police officers were injured and a woman, identified as 40-year-old Katie Powers, died during the incident.
[Editor's note: The video is attached to this article. Viewer discretion is advised.]
Police responded to a home near Oakdale and Wisteria to perform a welfare check on that day. Officers met with the landlord who requested the police after his tenant, Powers, began "displaying erratic behavior."
According to the investigative report, officers went down to the basement because Powers was removing insulation and drywall.
Officers saw Powers and her son near the furnace and the son was holding an “ice pick type weapon,” which he says his mother gave him. The son complied to drop the weapon before going upstairs.
Powers then began reaching for the ice pick that had been placed on the floor, the report says.
During a struggle with officers, the video shows Powers pulling out a gun and firing it.
One officer was hit in the chest. He was saved by his vest. The other officer shot Powers three times.
Powers died at the scene. A firearm was recovered from the scene.
A few months prior in September, her family voluntarily turned over a firearm she owned to the Waukesha Police Department because she was suffering from hallucinations, according to the Greenfield Police Department’s investigation.
On Nov. 28, 2022, the firearm was returned to Powers. It is unconfirmed if the firearm is the same one used in the shooting.
One of the injured officers was 44 years old with 21 years of service, and the other was 38 years old with 12 years of service. Both were placed on paid administrative leave per department policy.
The Milwaukee Area Investigation Team led by the Greenfield Police Department investigated the incident.
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