The Winslow police officer who fatally shot Loreal Tsingine March 27 has been identified as Officer Austin Shipley, a three-year veteran of the department. The Department of Public Safety, which is investigating the shooting, provided the name Monday at the request of the Winslow Police Department.
The shooting occurred after Shipley and another officer responded to a reported shoplifting incident at the Circle K on Williamson Avenue. Tsingine was seen on Fourth Street and reportedly matched the description of the shoplifter. While attempting to detain the 27-year-old woman, a physical altercation took place and Shipley discharged his firearm five times at Tsingine, who was reportedly armed with scissors.
Documents obtained by The Tribune-News from the City of Winslow show that Shipley was on probation with the department at the time of the shooting for an incident that occurred February regarding the incorrect application of a Taser. He was suspended from duty for one day without pay and received six months disciplinary probation, along with mandatory additional training.
Shipley was also disciplined in 2013 for violation of the department’s code of conduct, specifically inappropriate comments, for which he was suspended for one day without pay and required to take part in additional training.
DPS is continuing with the investigation and spent much of the last week in Winslow interviewing leads and conducting follow-up.
Shipley is on administrative leave pending the outcome of the investigation.
Feds Asked To Investigate Shooting
By Linda Kor
District 7 State Representative Albert Hale and Troy Eid, former chairman of the Indian Law and Order Commission, are asking the federal government to intervene in the investigation of the shooting death of Loreal Tsingine.
The Arizona Department of Public Safety is currently investigating the incident in which Tsingine was fatally shot by Winslow Police Department Officer Austin Shipley as she was being detained following a shoplifting incident on March 27.
In a letter to U.S. Attorney General Loretta E. Lynch, Hale and Eid wrote, “As members of the Navajo Nation Bar Association who have worked extensively in and around Winslow and surrounding areas, we can attest to persistent reports by local citizens–ranging from young people to the elderly–of unlawful police stops, use of excessive force, and other coercive activities by the Winslow Police Department which may constitute a pattern or practice of discrimination prohibited by federal law.
“Because there is no private right of action to vindicate these citizens’ federal civil rights through individual lawsuits, only the U.S. Department of Justice may enforce this law and put an end to alleged systemic police misconduct.”
Navajo Nation President Russell Begaye also called upon the federal government to take over the investigation during a vigil held for Tsingine, stating that justice would not take place with a state or local investigation.
