Woman dead after officer-involved shooting in Spring

SPRING, TX (KTRK) -- One woman is dead after an officer-involved shooting in Spring on the 23000 block of Spring Dane Drive around 9:30 Monday night.

The family has identified her as 45-year-old Michelle Miller.

Investigators say around 7:30pm Monday, Miller's sister received threatening text messages from her. She was threatening to kill relatives and harm law enforcement officers. The sister, who lives in Iowa Park, Texas, went to the local police department and reported the threatening messages. Iowa Park Police told Eyewitness News they called the Harris County Sheriff's Department, as well as authorities in Waco, where some relatives lived.

Precinct 4 Deputy Constables then went to Miller's home to check on her. Authorities say Miller wasn't home at the time and deputies called for backup. A spokesperson with the Harris County Sheriff's Office, who is investigating the shooting, said by the time she arrived, backup still hadn't shown up.

Investigators say Miller pulled into her driveway and got out of her car holding a gun. Deputies demanded she stop and drop the pistol but she refused, raising her gun and allegedly pointing it at a deputy.

"I saw an officer by the mailbox and I saw his gun drawn, pointing towards the house next to me," said Jeorge Cruz, Miller's next door neighbor.

Precinct 4 says Deputy Garrett Lindley shot Miller, who then fell to the ground.

Cruz said he heard at least four shots.

"She was a good kid," said Gene Dieterich, Miller's father. Eyewitness News spoke to him over the phone. Dieterich lives in Woodway, TX.

"Unfortunately, I think she got on the drug train and when that happened, it just kind of messed her up," he said.

Authorities have been called to this house before. Documents examined by Eyewitness News show Precinct 4 deputies were called at least twelve times in the past six years. In 2011, she was charged with aggravated assault of her neighbor. She was sentenced to deferred adjudication. The attorney who handled that case for Miller told Eyewitness News that his client had long suffered from mental illness. The attorney says Miller had spoken about so called "suicide by cop" in the past, and he has tried to get her mental health help.

Dieterich says he doesn't blame authorities for his daughter's death.

"Obviously, I'm not thrilled with the fact that they had to shoot Michelle, but the fact is they had no other choice. Point a gun at a police officer, you've got to expect the worst," Dieterich said.

Miller's father has a message for the deputy who pulled the trigger.

"You can tell him for me that the father of Michelle has no hard feelings toward him and he did what he had to do," he said.

But not everyone in the family is so quick to forgive. Miller's attorney says her mother is devastated by her daughter's death. She wants to wait until the full investigation is complete, to determine whether the shooting of her daughter was justified.