Charlotte Cops Kill Woman After She Shot Through Bedroom Door

Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police on Tuesday released body camera footage of the minutes leading up to and the exchange of gunfire between police and a 60-year-old woman in her south Charlotte home last August. The woman, Brenda Donahue, was shot and killed by a CMPD officer. The video captures the moment a CMPD officer was shot by Donahue, believed to have been saved when the bullet lodged in camera equipment the officer was wearing on her chest. Police were at Donahue’s house to serve an involuntary commitment order.

Officials, in a video statement also released Tuesday, said they were not told beforehand that Donahue had a gun. Involuntary commitment orders are executed by police officers, under a judge’s order, when a person in mental health distress is deemed to be a danger to themselves or others. Donahue fired at three officers — striking one in the chest — on Aug. 19. She died six days later in the hospital. The shooting unfolded just after 5:30 p.m. at a home in the 8900 block of St. Croix Lane, near Four Mile Creek Road in the Raintree community, The Charlotte Observer previously reported. The footage shows police officers speaking with a male resident of the home for about two minutes while standing outside the home. The man says Donahue is asleep and officers explain that she must come with them whether willingly or in handcuffs.

The male resident leads them inside and shows them Donahue’s room. In the video, the door appears closed and several officers are seen in a narrow set of stairs leading to the room, first attempting to talk to Donahue through the door. An officer — the first to enter the home and the officer standing closest to Donahue’s bedroom door — says “It’s the police, ma’am. Can you open up the door?” Donahue is heard in the video replying she will not open the door, followed immediately with gunfire through the door. The officers had been inside the home attempting to make contact with Donahue for less than 15 seconds, the footage shows.

The first shot struck one officer in the chest and knocked off her body camera. The officers were not injured, police have said. The officers rushed back down the stairs and took cover. Inaudible shouting is heard in the video along with additional shots, which police say again came from Donahue. Roughly 30 to 40 seconds after the first shot, Donahue left the room with her gun and looked over the railing and Officer Brandon Graham shot at her, police officials say.

That moment is not seen in body-worn camera footage released Tuesday. In the video, Graham is heard telling someone else right after that Donahue was holding the gun, pointed in his direction over the stair railing.