HARRIS COUNTY, Texas — One week after two deputies responding to a burglary call shot a woman in east Harris County, the sheriff’s office released bodycam video of the incident.
The shooting happened on Saturday, Feb. 3 shortly after 2 a.m. at an apartment complex on Uvalde Road near Wallisville Road. One woman – Eboni Pouncy – was injured in the shooting. Another woman -- Laronda Berry -- was also inside the apartment but wasn’t hurt.
The sheriff’s office later determined that Berry lived in that apartment and Pouncy was her guest. Berry said she told Pouncy to break the window because they were locked out. Deputies reportedly thought they were intruders.
Here's a link to the YouTube video clip showing the view from bodycams worn by the two deputies as they walked up the stairs to the apartment and through the shooting. Warning: The video shows multiple gunshots in succession and at least one profanity.
The deputies had already been at the complex on a different burglary call when someone flagged them down to Berry’s apartment. Deputies said they noticed the glass was broken and the blinds were raised. They said they saw Pouncy approach the door with a weapon when the shooting started.
Attorney Ben Crump is representing Pouncy and was demanding the release of the body-worn cameras. On Friday, Quanell X and Candice Matthews held a news conference demanding that an independent agency investigates the shooting.
Both deputies are on administrative leave, per department policy. Per department policy, bodycam video of critical incidents like this one are to be released within 45 days. This one was released after just seven.
Use of force expert and criminal justice professor David Thomas said the amount of shots fired is concerning.
"It's incumbent upon them to be able to explain what they saw, what they felt, and at what point they no longer felt that they were in danger," he said. "Concern? Yeah, I'm concerned about the number of shots. But again, that's for them to have to explain and address. And that's for Harris County, the Harris County Sheriff's Office have to explain."
Thomas said this is questionable considering one of the deputies has been on the force for four years and the other only serving for one.
"In all of my years of training, we always teach officers, we've always taught officers to shoot, stop and assess, a great time to stop and assess, when they reloaded it that would be a great time to assess to see what you have, and that didn't take place," he said.
Activist Dr. Candice Matthews is calling for more accountability.
"If the gun was not pointed at you, threatening the safety of you and your partner you do not unload, you do not do that type of foolishness they've done," she said.
Community activists are calling for a federal investigation by the Department of Justice. Meanwhile, The Harris County District Attorney's Office is conducting their own independent investigation to see if any charges will be filed.