Charleena Lyles, mom killed by Seattle police after showing a knife, had sought mental health help

The pregnant Seattle mom fatally shot by two cops Sunday after reporting a burglary and displaying a knife had sought mental-health help in the weeks and months leading up to her death, according to reports.

Charleena Lyles, 30, who had survived childhood physical and sexual abuse, recently feared losing her housing after years of homelessness and worried child protective services would take away her four kids, the Seattle Times reported.

After her June 5 arrest for harassment and obstruction of a public official — the result of her allegedly having brandished scissors at police and yelled, “Ain’t none of y’all leaving here today” — Lyles’ attorney told a court both she and her family had “mental-health concerns,” according to the paper.

Defense attorney Ashwin Kumar branded the behavior “more of a mental-health crisis” and said Lyles’ family found her recent actions “extremely unusual.”

Seattle police shoot, kill pregnant mom who showed knife to cops

Lyles’ mental health issues only flared up over the past year after someone reported her kids to CPS for neglect, her sister Monika Williams told the New York Times.

The mother had been trying to convince a judge the only risk factor was her two younger children’s father — an abusive ex who in a string of violent episodes last year allegedly hit her at her apartment, smashed her car windows while her kids were in the vehicle, and returned to assault her even after she obtained a restraining order, the Times reported.

She had been receiving CPS-mandated counseling, Kumar said, according to the Seattle Times. Lyles and her kids had reportedly seen a child and family therapist at least five times, according to a May letter from community nonprofit Solid Ground, which operated her transitional housing.

And following a domestic violence arrest stemming from an incident with her sister, Lyles had reportedly been treated last June at Sound Mental Health — where she wrote in an evaluation “I believe I need counseling” and “I believe I am suffering from depression.”

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“As a direct service and social justice organization it is incredibly frustrating to see our systems fail the people who come to us,” Solid Ground said in a statement after Lyles’ shooting. “We all must do better to make our community the equitable, safe place we all yearn for.”

The Seattle Police Department came under scrutiny Sunday after two of its officers — both “equipped with less lethal force options,” per officials — shot and killed Lyles while responding to her call of an attempted burglary.

“At some point, the 30-year-old female was armed with a knife,” Seattle Police Detective Mark Jamieson told reporters. “Both officers had fired their service weapons, striking the individual. Unfortunately, it is a fatality.”

Dashcam audio released Monday captured the two still-unidentified officers discussing Lyles’ June 5 arrest on the way to her apartment, where they speak with her about a stolen Xbox. The scene seems to escalate with little warning, culminating with one officer yelling “Get back, get back!” before shots are fired.

Police later released video from the dashcam and Lyles’ apartment hallway that did not show the shooting.

A GoFundMe campaign launched by Williams to support the family had raised more than $54,000 of its $5,000 goal by Tuesday morning.

“I don’t know if my sister had a knife or not, and even if she did, she was so tiny,” Williams told the New York Times. “There was no reason two trained police officers had to shoot her down.”

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