Heidi Steele-Van Burkirk, the sister-in-law of the woman who was shot and killed by a Burlington police officer yesterday(Tues) in front of her Garfield Street home is opening an account on “gofundme.com” to pay for her funeral.
34-year old Autumn Steele had reportedly just been released from the county jail, after being arrested Monday for allegedly attacking her husband Gabriel. When she returned home and the couple started arguing again, police were called and the fight moved outside.
According to a story from the Burlington HawkEye, a neighbor across the street said the officer who responded tried to intervene, but was startled by the family’s German Shepherd. The neighbor says the officer shot at the dog, but slipped and fell in the snow as he was doing so, and one of the bullets hit Mrs. Steele…an apparent accident, according to that neighbor. The victim was taken to Great River Medical Center, where she was pronounced dead.
Because the shooting involved a police officer, Burlington turned the case over to the state Division of Criminal Investigation and agent-in charge Rick Rahn says he’ll release more information when their probe is complete.
