Modesto police identify officers involved in deadly shooting

Modesto police on Monday released the names of three officers involved in a deadly shooting as well as the name of the woman who was shot.

Kim Jackson, 53, was shot when she charged officers with knives early Saturday in the 1500 block of Queens Avenue, according to Modesto police.

Jackson was taken to a Modesto hospital, where she died.

Officers were called to the quiet neighborhood southwest of Briggsmore and Rose avenues about 2 a.m. by Jackson’s father, who said Jackson was intoxicated and vandalizing the family’s home.

By the time officers arrived, Jackson had left, but an hour later another 911 call came from the home. The caller said Jackson had returned with a knife.

Officers arrived and were walking to the home when Jackson confronted them in the street armed with multiple knives, according to police.

As officers were telling her to drop the knives, she advanced quickly toward them with the knives raised above her head, police said.

Officers used a Taser and bean bags and one officer used his firearm. Modesto Police Department spokeswoman Heather Graves said the sequence in which the weapons were used and the time frame were still under investigation.

She did not say which officers used which weapons, but identified the three officers involved in the incident as Sgt. Alex Bettis, a 19-year veteran; Michael Callahan, an 18-year veteran; and Joseph Lamantia, an eight-year veteran.

The officers were uninjured and placed on paid administrative leave, which is standard procedure with all officer-involved shootings.

Three separate and independent investigations have been launched into this incident. The Modesto Police Department is conducting criminal and administrative investigations and the Stanislaus County District Attorney’s Office is conducting an independent review of the incident.

It was the department’s fourth fatal officer-involved shooting in the past 12 months.

Lamantia and Callahan have both been involved in previous officer-involved fatal shootings.

Callahan shot and killed a masked robber last October at the Boyett Cruisers gas station and convenience store at Briggsmore Avenue and Claus Road. Lamantia was one of two officers who shot and killed a man during a family dispute in September 2010.

This story was originally published October 10, 2016 at 7:55 PM with the headline "Modesto police identify officers involved in deadly shooting."