Mother wants answers after son killed by police
By Emily Rittman, Nick Sloan
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KANSAS CITY, Missouri (KCTV) — A mother is asking for answers after her son was shot and killed by police earlier this week at 52nd and Olive.
Investigators say Kansas City police officers shot 36-year-old Shawn Wilson after he showed a knife and started to come toward police.
Wilson’s mother, Helen Wilson, says she was home when her son was fatally shot.
She says the first two police officers who arrived at her home were very professional and she welcomed them into her home.
Police were originally called to investigate a domestic disturbance involving a child.
Wilson says she told police her son had mental health issues.
Relatives say he was diagnosed with bipolar disorder and schizophrenia.
Helen Wilson says officers informed her they would call Crisis Intervention Team Officers.
CIT officers are trained to help to improve interactions between police and community members with a mental illness.
She says police officers took Shawn Wilson outside onto the porch.
According to a spokesperson for the Missouri State Highway Patrol, the agency investigating the shooting, Wilson was shot as he was advancing towards police with a knife.
Wilson was taken to the hospital where he was pronounced dead.
“He had mental illness and I know that,” she said. “I was having a hard and difficult time getting him help. I was so happy when they said they was going to help him.”
Wilson’s family members and the President of the Blue Hills neighborhood association said they are speaking with an attorney and would like to see body camera footage of the shooting.
A spokesperson for the police department said they cannot comment on an open investigation.
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