DIED NOV. 29, 2016 / SHOT ON STREET IN SUNALTA
Jessica Lynn Patterson, 27
Photo by Nina Grossman
In the early morning hours of Nov. 29, 2016, Jessica Lynn Patterson, 27, was walking outside in the Sunalta area, near the 1700 block of 11th Avenue S.W. She had a knife in each hand and was acting “erratically,” banging on car windows and building doors.
According to an ASIRT press release, it was about 2:30 a.m. when Calgary Police Service (CPS) officers responded to a 911 caller who had “heard a female screaming.”
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“A confrontation occurred between an officer and the woman resulting in one of the officers discharging their police service weapon,” details the release.
Patterson collapsed and was transported to hospital where she was pronounced dead.
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In an interview with the Calgary Herald, Jessica's mother, Trena Patterson said she wanted everyone to know her daughter wasn't a bad person.
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"I'm just devastated. I want to know the truth. I won't rest until I do know the truth. That's what I want -- justice for Jessica. I don't want anything else from anybody. If she was shot for no good reason, I want somebody punished for it."
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According to Patterson, she had spoke to her daughter over text hours before he death. She'd been living at a condo in Sunalta with her cat and Pomeranian while separated from her husband. She adds her daughter spent a lot of time working out at a Crossfit gym next door in addition to visiting her and spending time with her two pets -- her daughter was also making plans to return to college.
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Trent said she knew Jessica had done drugs in the past and acknowledges her daughter was taking methadone, but didn't believe she was abusing drugs at the time of her death. Methadone is used in addiction detox programs. Jessica had no criminal record.
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The woman’s neighbour, Raine McLeod, told CBC she felt police had overreacted.
"I was appalled and disgusted and absolutely shocked that they would have to use that kind of force, or they would determine that kind of force was required," she told them.
ASIRT is currently investigating the incident.
Patterson allegedly had one knife in each hand when she was shot by police in Sunalta. Photos Courtesy of ASIRT.
Every day Calgarians drive through the streets where the fifth and final fatal police-involved shooting of 2016 took place. Jessica Lee Patterson was only 27 when she was shot and killed by police in the southwest Sunalta neighbourhood. Photo by Nina Grossman.
Calgary Police Chief Roger Chaffin tells media at a press conference in November 2016. Video produced by Nina Grossman.
"the 27-year-old woman was struck and subsequently died as a result."
-Doug King
