A Gates police officer shot and killed a woman early Sunday after police say she pointed a replica revolver at the officer, who had stopped to help her.
Gates Police Chief Robert Long said the encounter lasted about 20 seconds.
An officer on routine patrol saw a woman standing in the road near Spencerport Road around 1 a.m. Oct. 4, and pulled over to talk with her. According to Long, the officer saw what appeared to be a gun and gave the woman "clear, concise orders" to drop the weapon before firing and striking her. The woman did not respond to the officer, Long said.
She was identified by police as 27-year-old Haley Rodriguez of Rochester. Long did not name the officer involved, but said he is on administrative leave pending an investigation.
The replica revolver looked "exactly like a real revolver," Long said, "especially in that lighting and time conditions of that evening." Long said he believed the officer acted according to his training and department protocol.
"(He) immediately gave clear, awesome directions to drop the revolver, to talk to him, wanted to figure out what was going on," the chief said. "He said, 'Can I help you? Put it down. Let's take care of this.' It was good instructions.
"Unfortunately at one point, the individual did raise the revolver towards the officer, at which point the Gates police officer did fire, striking the individual."
Long declined to say how many times the officer fired or where Rodriguez was struck. She was transported to Strong Memorial Hospital by ambulance, where she died. It is still unclear why she was in the road that night.
"The incident occurred so quickly that I don't think they would have had time to know if there was any mental distress going on," Long said.
The Monroe County Sheriff's Office is leading an investigation into the shooting. The New York State Attorney General's Office is also investigating, which is standard practice when someone is killed in an incident involving police. Long said he intends to release body-worn camera footage of the shooting at a later date.
This is the first fatal police shooting in Gates by police in over 20 years.
― Kayla Canne covers community safety for the Democrat and Chronicle with a focus on immigration, police accountability, government surveillance and how people are impacted by violence. Follow her on Instagram @bykaylacanne. Get in touch at kcanne@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: Gates officer kills woman who police say pointed replica gun
