Officer Involved - Miss Daisy
there are no magic words
This one is hard to watch.
I get no joy from covering this case.
But the goal here is to discuss the real things that law enforcement officers experience.
What Happened
This occurred on 11/23/24 in Greenville, South Carolina and began with a call to 911 from a woman that we will call “Miss Daisy”.
Miss Daisy provided the operator with her location, clothing description, then threatened to “do something stupid” and requested the presence of deputies.
The operator asked Miss Daisy if she would harm the deputies who responded and she stated, “Yes, I would.”
Deputies arrived on scene and located Miss Daisy outside of a business and began to speak with her.
Deputies asked Miss Daisy why she called 911 and asked how they could assist her. During this contact they also:
Offered her a ride.
Offered to call a family member or friend.
Offered to get her shelter for the evening.
Offered to get a her a meal.
Offered to get out of the “cold”.
The deputies also utilized light humor and the conversational tone displayed humanity - as opposed to robotic commands and orders that we so often see in these cases. These deputies cared what happened to Miss Daisy and it showed.
I should also mention that the deputies maintained their distance, stayed near their patrol vehicles, did not approach - as Miss Daisy was armed with a knife that she was gripping in her right hand.
Multiple times during this interaction, Miss Daisy did a “bluff charge” towards the deputies - while holding the knife. Where she took a few quick steps towards them and then stopped.
The deputies took these threats seriously and responded by:
Backing up and using their vehicles as cover.
Issuing commands and force warnings.
A Taser deployment - that did not achieve the desired result
Still frame
Use of Force
Eventually Miss Daisy charged at the deputies and attacked for real.
The deputies responded with deadly force.
Analysis
Law
Section 23-2-70F states, “a law enforcement officer is justified in using deadly force if the law enforcement officer has an objectively reasonable belief that a lesser degree of force is inadequate and the officer has objectively reasonable grounds to believe, and does believe, that he or another person is in imminent danger of being killed or of receiving serious bodily injury.”
Miss Daisy was armed with a deadly weapon (knife).
Miss Daisy threatened to harm the deputies.
Miss Daisy was given instructions and warnings to “drop the knife” and not attack deputies.
Though not required to - the deputies attempted de-escalation tactics.
Miss Daisy charged at the deputies with the deadly weapon.
This use of deadly force was objectively reasonable and within South Carolina law.
Policy
The Greenville County Sheriff’s Office completed an internal review of this use of force. The findings were that, “the deputies’ use of deadly force was justified according to sheriff’s office use of force policy.”
Other Options
Calls like this put law enforcement officers in a terrible situation.
After a case like ends with an Officer-Involved-Shooting (OIS) - the inevitable criticism is that the officers should have “just left”.
If law enforcement officers, in situations like this “just leave” and the person walks into traffic, freezes to death in the elements, attacks a random citizen, or commits su1c1de - the criticism would be that officers knew that she asked for help, knew that she was unstable, and just left because they did not care about what happened to her.
The deputies in this case made the correct decision to stay on scene and attempt de-escalation tactics. Here’s why…
Miss Daisy requested police assistance.
She was armed with a knife and threatened to harm deputies or “do something stupid”.
By charging at the officers - that resulted in a Taser deployment - that was a criminal offense.
The totality of the circumstances would meet the criteria for an involuntary mental health evaluation - which would have been the preferred resolution.
*If Miss Daisy was alone in her home and did not want contact with law enforcement - I agree that deputies should not force entry and use force to make her get immediate mental health assistance.
However, being in public, armed with a knife, making threats, and requesting the presence of deputies is a completely different situation. They made the objectively correct decision to remain on scene.
Final Thoughts
This one is going to sit with these deputies long after they leave this job.
Just remember. There are no magic words. Sometimes kindness and empathy are not enough to overcome years of anguish and mental illness.
Daisy wanted to go out like this. They weren't going to get her back and if the tasers were ineffectual, all they could do was try and talk to her for as long as possible - until she decided to make that an impossibility.
This was suicide by cop and tragic for all involved.
You are correct, had the deputies left her there, she would have found another wat to kill herself and then they would have been painted as uncaring bigots, who abandon a person who called for help.
Hopefully these deputies are able to cope and understand they couldn't have done anything more.
If someone were looking for a critical incident video to show as a perfect example of how a situation like this should be handled, this is it. It's also a perfect example of how de-escalation is only one tool on your tool belt and that a subject can only be deescalated if they choose to be. This was a perfect example of officers using the correct tone of voice, talking conversationally, trying to deescalate the situation while still maintaining their Tactical advantage. When it became clear that the subject was not going to be de-escalated and she charged the officers, they did not run away, they did not back miles down the street while yelling for her to stop, they utilized Force as necessary to stop the threat.