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ATLANTA -- The woman shot and killed by Atlanta Police near the Fulton County Courthouse had been arrested multiple times, most recently in March 2015. One of those arrests included stealing a police patrol car.
Twenty-five-year-old Alexia Christian was in the back of a patrol car Thursday evening when she somehow escaped her handcuffs and began firing a weapon of her own. Atlanta Police said she was arrested for driving a stolen car.
Police say she fired at least twice, officers fired back, and she was shot and killed.
11Alive's Ryan Kruger found jail records in Fulton County listing seven arrests for Christian stretching back to 2006 that included:
- March 18, 2015: Selling marijuana
- Jan. 29, 2015: shoplifting
- Dec. 14, 2011: disorderly conduct
- Feb. 13, 2013: aggravated assault, obstructing a law enforcement officer, stolen auto
- Sept. 26, 2006: driving without a license, aggravated assault, giving false information, auto theft (of a police car)
- Aug. 17, 2006: robbery by snatching
- June 25, 2006: driving without a license, giving false information to police
During a press conference Friday afternoon, Atlanta Police Chief Georgia Turner said Christian had escaped handcuffs before, just like she did on Thursday: "I would imagine it's very difficult, but this woman did that. And she has a history of doing that."
She also had a history of stealing cars; she was arrested twice for doing it in the past. In September 2006, she escaped handcuffs while in custody for auto theft. The Atlanta Police officer left the patrol car to talk to a witness. Somehow, Christian escaped her handcuffs, crawled through the Plexiglas separation, and started driving away. The officer grabbed the steering wheel, and was dragged for several feet before she drove away. She was later arrested.
Officers found her in a Ford F-150 that had been reported stolen earlier in the day.
Turner says the two male officers, 18-year veteran Jeff Cook and rookie Omar Thyme, had just started to question her when Christian pulled out a gun and fired three shots.
"Both of these officers missed being killed by an inch," Deputy Chief Darryl Tolleson said. "It's a miracle he's alive."
The officers bailed out of the car and fired ten rounds at Christian, ultimately killing her. The two officers are on administrative leave and will give statements sometime next week.
Turner says the department is still investigating to find out what went wrong.
Alexia Christian arrest reports from Atlanta Police Department:
