GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — Grand Rapids police on Tuesday released body camera video from an incident in which they fired bean bag rounds at a woman who was harming herself.
The incident happened Thursday evening near the roundabout at Jefferson Avenue and Cherry Street SE near Mercy Health Saint Mary's. The Grand Rapids Police Department says the woman cut herself with a knife.
GRPD Officer Kait Bernardo, whose bodycam video was released, can be heard repeatedly asking the woman what her name is, urging her to drop the knife and telling her that police don't want her to harm herself.
"If you put the knife down, you can come and sit in my car and talk to me,” Bernardo can be heard saying. "…You're not in any trouble. We just want to know what's going on here."
Police gave the woman plenty of space, standing on the other side of the street, while they tried to reason with her and worked out a plan.
"I will talk to you, but you've got to throw that knife away," Bernardo can be heard saying. "I don't want you to hurt yourself and I don't want to hurt you."
"No one's going to attack you, honey," Bernardo adds later. "We just want to know what's going on today."
"You've got to be personal and genuine with people like that because they're not going to take well to yelling commands at them,” Bernardo told 24 Hour News 8 after the video was released.
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