1 shot by officer in Amherst, police say

BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) -- One person was shot and injured by a police officer on Tuesday, according to the Amherst Police Department.

A female was allegedly armed with a knife and acting in a "threatening manner" around 2 p.m. at the Colonie Apartment Complex on Sweet Home Road. Police said the person advanced towards police before she was shot by a police officer.

She was taken to ECMC after receiving medical attention at the scene. No officers were injured.

The public was asked to avoid the area of Durham Drive near Sweet Home Road around 2:40 p.m. Police said they were investigating an "incident" and that there was no perceived danger to the public.

Body-worn cameras captured the footage. The District Attorney's Office will be conducting a "thorough review," and will now look into whether to bring forth any charges against those involved in this incident. 

“It is truly based on what the officers at the time that the incident occurred perceived to be the threat and whether or not their actions were justified,” said former Buffalo Police Captain Jeff Rinaldo. 

“No police officer goes to work with the intention of hurting somebody,” said Rinaldo. “Unfortunately, the people who control the outcomes of these situations nine times out of 10 is the suspect themselves. If they refuse the officer’s request to put down the weapon, and then they begin to advance on the officer or another person, it really does leave the police with almost no options but to protect themselves and others.”

Former Erie County District Attorney John Flynn weighed in, saying, "that's the first legal analysis you're gonna make right there is whether the officers had justification for the use of deadly force.”

“You wanna evaluate whether or not the officers acted under the auspices of the law, were the officers lives threatened,” said Flynn. “Now you look at the victim may turn out not to be a victim, but a criminal or an alleged criminal who may have done something wrong like lunge at an officer with a knife.”

Rinaldo tells us the officer involved will likely be placed on administrative leave per routine policy during the investigation.

The identity of both the woman and the officer have not yet been released.