Texas Cops Go Silent After Retracting Claim Woman Had Gun When Officer Killed Her

By David Edwards
The Raw Story
Feb. 21, 2014

The family of a Texas woman said this week that she did not have a gun as officers had first claimed when she was shot and killed on Sunday.

In a statement over the weekend, the Bastrop County Sheriff’s Office said that they had been called to a home regarding an altercation between two men, and a gun was involved, KTBC reported.

The statement claimed that Deputy Daniel Willis was forced to shoot 48-year-old Yvette Smith because she came to the door with a firearm and disobeyed officers’ commands.

A second statement, however, retracted the claim that Smith had a weapon. Authorities said that they were not able to confirm if she was armed.

Willie Thomas, who owned the home, insisted to the American-Statesman this week that he witnessed the incident, and that Willis had no reason to shoot Smith because she did not have a gun.

“All I can tell you is that they overreacted,” Willis explained. “She didn’t have the chance to get out the door.”