After an officer-involved shooting in Lynchburg on May 12, the husband of the woman shot spoke out Friday.
Ashley Biggs Neeley was due in court Friday, facing multiple charges, including assault on an officer. She is still recovering in the hospital from her gunshot wounds, so the hearing is pushed back until after she recovers, which could be as soon as Monday.
This incident first occurred on May 12, when Biggs Neeley allegedly assaulted child protective services personnel. Officers were called and when they arrived, Biggs Neeley opened the door and began attacking the officers with knives, according to LPD.
Biggs Neeley's husband, Aaron Neeley, said it should have been handled differently.
"She has a mental illness," Neeley explained. "They could've done more. They didn't have to shoot her. They could've tased her or anything. They had an opportunity to do that. And they shot her. They shot her like a dog."
ABC13 has spoken with the Lynchburg Commonwealth's Attorney after previous officer-involved shootings. She explained that standard police procedure is to stop the threat by any means necessary. The investigation is still ongoing to determine if procedures were followed correctly.
Neeley told me he just wants people to know the truth.
"They didn't have to try to kill her," Neeley said. "I mean this shooting has got to stop. They did this in front of my six-year-old child. My six-year-old stepchild said, 'They shot my mamma.' My six-year-old son said that to me."
He continued that his wife wouldn't do this.
"She wasn't trying to hurt nobody," Neeley said. "She just has got a mental problem. She had a knife in her hand. They could've de-escalated the situation. They didn't have to shoot her like that."
I asked Neeley to explain why his wife was holding knives if she wasn't trying to hurt the police.
Q) Do you know why she had the knife in her hand to begin with?
I just -- I don't want to say no more -- no more about it because it's an open case, Neeley responded.
I reached out to LPD, requesting an interview to discuss Neeley's comments and this case. They declined to interview but did speak on the scene with ABC13 on May 12.
"Virginia State Police was requested by Chief Zuidema to investigate this incident and no officers were hurt in this incident," Kylie Kidd, the Public Information Officer for LPD explained.
I reached out to State Police to ask them for comment. They also declined and cited this as an ongoing investigation.
Neeley continued to stress that he was confident in the truth.
"Just leave it to God's hands and pray about it," Neeley said. "I mean that's all I can do. And try to bring the truth to light."