A newly released [1] body-worn camera video shows the moment a Fairfax County police officer shot and killed a woman during a welfare check that turned violent in Reston, Virginia, in September.
The video, made public by the Fairfax County Police Department on Monday, captures the events leading up to the fatal shooting of 33-year-old Sydney Wilson on September 16, 2023.
The incident began when officers responded to a request for a welfare check from a mental health professional concerned about Wilson’s well-being.
Fairfax County Police Chief Kevin Davis provided details during a press conference on Monday, explaining that the situation escalated quickly when the officer was confronted with a violent knife attack.
The video shows Officer Peter Liu, a 14-year veteran of the department trained in crisis intervention, arriving at an apartment complex on Sunrise Valley Drive, near Reston Parkway.
Upon arrival, Liu knocked on Wilson’s door. Initially, Wilson opened the door briefly before slamming it shut.
Over the next few minutes, Liu continued knocking while Wilson placed a phone near the door, which played loud music.
After several minutes of knocking, Wilson opened the door again, this time wielding a knife.
The body camera footage shows Wilson slashing Officer Liu in the face.
Despite being wounded, Liu repeatedly instructed Wilson to back away, giving at least eight verbal warnings as the confrontation moved into a dead-end hallway.
As Wilson appeared to lunge at him again with the knife, Officer Liu fired his weapon, hitting her three times. Wilson was later transported to a hospital, where she died from her injuries.
Officer Liu was also taken to the hospital for treatment of his facial wounds sustained during the attack.
Following the incident, Chief Davis defended Liu’s actions, stating that the officer followed his training under extreme circumstances. “He did the things that we trained him and expect him to do when you’re threatened like that,” Davis said. “If you can tactically reposition yourself, you do it. If you can use distance, use it. If you can seek cover and concealment, seek it. All those options weren’t available to him.”
The body-worn camera footage has sparked public interest, as the department continues to investigate the events leading to Wilson’s death.
Chief Davis addressed questions about the department’s response protocols, particularly the absence of a mental health clinician during the welfare check.
Fairfax County has a co-responder program, where mental health clinicians accompany officers on calls involving mental health crises.
However, the co-responder assigned to that area was on another call at the time of the incident.
Davis noted that even if a mental health professional had been present, the situation would still have been dangerous. “It still would have gotten dangerous and even put that mental health expert in harm’s way,” Davis said, suggesting that the unpredictable nature of the knife attack would have posed a significant threat to anyone on the scene.
Officer Liu, who was placed on restrictive duty following the shooting, is currently assigned to a different department within the Fairfax County Police while the investigation proceeds.
The department has not provided a timeline for when the internal review will be completed.
As the investigation continues, the Fairfax County Police Department will review all available evidence to determine the next steps regarding Officer Liu’s actions and the overall handling of the welfare check.