Trans Woman Maddie Hofmann Killed by Police in Pennsylvania
Transgender woman Maddie Hofmann, 47, was shot to death by police in Malvern, Pa., in May, news that has only recently been widely reported.Police were called to Hofmann’s home to do a wellness check May 19 after receiving a report that a woman there was having a mental health crisis, according to Philadelphia TV station WTXF.
Hofmann approached them outside the house, holding a handgun and a cell phone. Hofmann dropped the gun at one point, and then picked it up inside the house and struggled with an officer for it.
Hofmann then pointed it at the officers, and then one of them fatally shot the trans woman.The incident was recorded on body-cam video.
The Chester County District Attorney's Office reviewed the footage and determined that the use of deadly force was justified because “the police officer had a reasonable belief that his life, and the lives of others, were in danger of serious bodily injury or death,” District Attorney Deb Ryan said in a press release.Hofmann’s loved ones took issue. “Maddie’s family is devastated by this loss,” her sister Emily Flynn wrote on a GoFundMe page. “Nationwide, police are usually the first responders to people with mental health crises.
