JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- A woman who fired two shots at a Jacksonville police officer was fatally shot when that officer returned fire, Jacksonville Sheriff's Office Chief Rick Graham said Tuesday afternoon.

The incident began as a traffic stop near Ribualt Junior High School. However, Graham said the woman driving the vehicle, later identified as 22-year-old Latoya Grier, sped off as Officer C. L Tremaroli was approaching her car.

After a short pursuit, the officer turned off his sirens and blue lights but continued to keep sight of the car and followed it down Ken Knight Drive. That's where Tremaroli, a five-year veteran with JSO, caught up with the suspect when she pulled her car onto a grass curb.

"The vehicle was smoking to the point where Officer Tremaroli actually requested our dispatcher to call fire control because he thought the vehicle was on fire," Graham said. "Officer Tremaroli approached the car, making an effort to get the female driver out of the vehicle, concerned that the vehicle was on fire and she was trapped. She had what appeared to be a door handle in her hand."

When Tremaroli returned to his vehicle to get something to use to break Grier's car window witnesses alerted the officer that the woman was running away.

Graham said Grier was caught after a foot pursuit and a brief struggle.

"After he captured the suspect, approximately 750 to 1,000 yards from the original stop, there was very brief struggle. Officer Tremaroli then had the female driver by one arm as he escorted her back toward the original stop. At that point, the female came out from somewhere on her clothing with a firearm and shoots twice at Officer Tremaroli from a very close proximity," Graham said. "One of the shoots came close enough to Officer Tremaroli that he thought he had actually been shot and put it out on the radio that he'd been shot. The second shot actually struck the Taser on his duty belt."

Tremaroli stepped back and fired his weapon several times, striking Grier. The woman was taken to Shands-Jacksonville Medical Center, where she was pronounced dead.

Grier's family members said they have a lot of questions about how and why their loved one was shot.

"Anytime that you're in pursuit of a criminal or anybody, the first thing you do when you bring them back is pat them down to make sure for your safety as well as the community that they don’t have a weapon. That's the question that I have," said Grier's aunt, Eugenia Jones.

When Channel 4 asked Graham a similar question the police chief said, "He just now got control of her. He's by himself with her, and there are a couple of options that he has. He chose the option to escort her out. He felt that … he needed to get her out to a better area to take further action. What that further action would have been -- there were several options. He could have handcuffed her. There were other back-up officers that were in close proximity coming to him. I'm not going to speculate what he should have done at that point. He had control of the suspect at that time and that was his decision."

According to police, a small revolver believed to have been Grier's weapon was found at the scene and a significant amount of, "what appears to be illegal drugs" were found on Grier.

Police said Grier had a police record that includes possession of marijuana, drug possession with intent to distribute, aggravated battery with a firearm, burglary and carrying a concealed weapon by convicted felon.

Jones said she and other family members were aware of the Grier's history.

"The family, we have an open mind about it. However it may turn out, we will deal with it," Jones said. "We just want to know the truth."

This was the ninth police-involved shooting by a Jacksonville officer this year. JSO is expected to hold a second news conference regarding the shooting sometime on Wednesday.