NASSAU COUNTY, Fla. – DISCLAIMER: This story and the video contain graphic content. Discretion is advised.
The Nassau County Sheriff’s Office on Thursday released body camera footage from early Jan. 11 when, according to the sheriff, a deputy shot and killed a woman who was “holding a BB-style rifle.”
Deputies said they responded around 2:15 a.m. to a domestic disturbance at the Barbara Lane home of 47-year-old Donna Dale, who they said was threatening to harm herself.
Her family called 911.
“She might have something in her hand. I don’t know. Please tell them to Taser her (expletive) if they have to but don’t shoot her unless, you know, they have to,” the caller can be heard saying in audio of the 911 call.
When deputies arrived, they said, Dale was out of the house and in heavy brush on the property. The deputies could hear her but couldn’t see her, they said.
The Sheriff’s Office released two bodycam videos, and in the footage, deputies ask her repeatedly to come out of the bushes. She can be heard saying she has a real gun, but Nassau County Sheriff Bill Leeper previously said investigators determined the rifle she was holding was a “BB-style rifle.” At one point, a deputy can be heard saying, “I don’t want to shoot you.” At another point, a deputy can be heard saying, “We don’t want to kill you.”
Deputies are told to keep their distance. The woman can be heard screaming and crying from the bushes.
Deputy in bodycam footage: “We don’t have a good option here other than going in and getting her.”
Dale: “Just kill me.”
Deputy: “I don’t want to kill you. I want you to stand up and walk toward me.”
Dale: “You ain’t gonna have a choice.”
Deputy: “Donna, please show us your hands so we can help you.”
Deputies back up. About a minute goes by, and then a deputy sees Dale with the rifle.
“Oh, (expletive) she does have a gun. Back up, she’s got a black barrel. Donna, don’t move. Donna, Donna, please,” a deputy can be heard saying.
According to the Sheriff’s Office, Dale pointed the rifle at herself and then pointed it at deputies. That’s when, the Sheriff’s Office said, Deputy Christian Cofer fired a single shot, killing Dale.
Cofer, a seven-year veteran of the agency, was not hurt, nor were any of the other deputies.
News4JAX on Thursday reached out to Dale’s family, who asked for two things: privacy and prayers for Dale’s children.