Miriam Carey, Capitol Hill chase suspect shot and killed by authorities, has left her sister Valerie Carey questioning the procedure from Thursday’s incident.
Valerie believes her sister’s death could have been avoided and deadly force was not necessary, Reuters reports. The encounter began when Carey allegedly tried to ram a White House barrier with her black Infiniti coupe, ending in a high-speed chase where Carey was shot and killed.
"My sister could have been any person traveling in our capital," Valarie, a former New York police sergeant told reporters outside her Brooklyn home. "Deadly physical force was not the ultimate recourse and it didn't have to be."
Carey, 34-year-old from Stamford, Conn., was traveling with her one-year-old daughter, Erica, in the car during the U.S. Capitol police encounter. The child was not injured during the car chase. According to CNN, Carey suffered from post-partum depression and treat schizophrenia.
Law enforcement sources told CNN police found discharge papers at Carey’s apartment, listing prescription medications need to treat schizophrenia and other mental disorders.
Carey reportedly did not shoot a gun during the car chase and there was “no indication” she had one, according to the sources.
"I'm more than certain that there was no need for a gun to be used (by police) when there was no gunfire coming from the vehicle," Valarie told reporters. "I don't know how their protocols are in D.C., but I do know how they are in New York City."
Carey’s other sister, Amy Carey-Jones, described to reporters how she dealt with her mental illness. Carey-Jones said her sister was receiving treatment and taking medication.
"I can tell you that she was a law-abiding citizen, carefree and loving. She had a baby and she did suffer from post-partum depression with psychosis," Carey-Jones said.
Check out footage from the car chase in the video below.
