Texas Sheriff’s Deputies Save Woman’s Life and Prevent ‘Suicide By Cop’

Hidalgo County Sheriff's Office
Hidalgo County Sheriff's Office Facebook Page

At a time when police officers are often criticized for doing their job, a group of Texas border sheriff’s deputies were able to save a woman who pulled out a gun at the entrance of the county jail in an effort to get authorities to shoot her. The cops instead used a Taser to take down the woman who had been carrying a realistic toy gun.

The attempted suicide began when 56-year-old Marisela Martinez Zamora walked into one of the entrances of the Hidalgo County Jail and began to make threats claiming to have a gun, court records obtained by Breitbart Texas show. Suicide by cop refers to the practice of prompting an escalation with police in order to get them to shoot the suicidal suspect.

Martinez pulled out the handgun and after a brief exchange of words, a deputy shot her with a Taser, knocking her back and allowing other deputies to take the handgun and make sure she was unhurt, a surveillance video of the standoff published by the Hidalgo County Sheriff’s Office on their Facebook Page revealed.

The handgun that Martinez was carrying was in fact an airsoft pistol which is a realistic looking toy version of a Beretta 92 handgun.

Authorities are working to confirm if Martinez is the same woman who had robbed a bail bonding company just moments before the standoff at the jail. She formally charged with one count of making a terroristic threat and her bond was set at $5,000.

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