Only on CBS13: Video shows police shooting fleeing Sacramento woman and being barred from her assault trial

SACRAMENTO – The defense team for a woman facing criminal charges in Sacramento court has serious doubts about whether her right to a fair trial was violated.

Kyrieanna Liles, 24, is charged with aggravated assault on a peace officer while on duty, stemming from an encounter with officers of the Rancho Cordova Police Department in November 2023.

In January, CBS13 first reported on the release of the bodycam video and the question arises as to whether the use of force by the officers who fired at the fleeing vehicle was justified.

Bodycam video of the encounter first shows an officer approaching Liles, who is in her vehicle parked in her driveway in her Rancho Cordova neighborhood.

“Ma'am, come out for a minute,” said the officer at her driver's window.

“No,” Liles replied.

“We need to talk about something,” the officer said.

“Leave me alone,” Liles said.

The exchange continued like this for another minute.

The officer approached Liles that afternoon after a previous emergency call herself to the police while trying to find her dog. Her neighbors also called 911 after encountering Liles, believing her dog was in her backyard.

However, during the exchange with Liles in her driveway, bodycam video shows that officers did not say she was under arrest, why they wanted to speak to her, or that she had committed a crime.

When Liles continued to refuse to get out of her car, the police officer tried to pull her out by force. Liles reversed the car and began to flee.

The officers then fired ten shots at her, hitting her once in the arm. The officers were not injured.

In her defense, officers said that the moment Liles turned her car in their direction, it was a deadly weapon and they were in danger. Liles was arrested shortly after the incident.

Her trial on charges of assaulting a peace officer began on Tuesday, May 21, in Sacramento County Criminal Court.

“She decided to change direction. She had no way of knowing that one of the police officers would run in front of her camera,” said Jamie Kristen of her daughter Liles.

At Wednesday's hearing, the judge granted the prosecution's request not to present to the jury as evidence the seconds of bodycam video showing the police officers shooting Liles with their weapons.

Liles' public defender then stated that the exclusion of the file was “a violation of her right to a fair trial and her right to present all relevant evidence.”

Court records show the judge's decision said “the court has indicated that it will exclude evidence of this conduct as irrelevant” and that Liles' alleged crime of assault occurred before the shooting.

Only the moments on the bodycam video before and after the shooting may be shown to the jury.

“They don't want the jury to see the police officers standing there pointing their guns at the woman as she drives away,” said Liles, who argues the decision was made to protect the officers.

“The main reason the prosecutor claimed this video was inappropriate is because it would arouse sympathy for the defendant because she was shot by police officers,” Liles said.

Kristen and Liles' public defender argues that the seconds of video footage during the shooting are crucial to their own defense and could prove their innocence. They claim the video must be shown at trial.

“That was her intention, not to hit him. When she saw him, she stopped and spun her tires. That will be difficult to prove if certain parts are edited out,” Kristen said.

To put this decision into perspective, CBS13 asked Sacramento attorney Mark Reichel, who is not involved in this case, to watch the video and give his opinion.

“I think the video should be shown to the jury,” Reichel said.

Reichel said everyone has a right to a fair trial and it would be wrong to cherry-pick in this case.

“The video shows the crime. Yes, it shows them shooting. That puts them in a bad light. The jury can be instructed to 'ignore the police officer shooting.' The video is shown to show what the driver did, what she corrected when she got out of the way,” Reichel said.

Liles hopes the court will change course and allow the jury to consider the entire argument when deciding guilt or innocence.

The Sacramento County Sheriff's Office is required by law to release bodycam video after an officer-involved shooting. You can see the full video detailing the encounter at this link.