The Texan Harris County Sheriff’s Office (HCSO) released the bodycam footage of one of their deputies who, alongside another officer, appeared to shoot a woman they allegedly thought was an intruder, ABC News reported.
The two HCSO deputies were captured in the approximately 4-minutes of footage responding to a reported break-in during the early hours of Feb. 3, according to the outlet. (RELATED: ‘Here We Are Again’: Neighbors Say Joel Osteen Megachurch Shooter Should Have Been ‘Handled Years Ago’)
The video provided by ABC News showed the officers encountering a broken window on the house, knocking on the door and announcing their presence. A car alarm then went off and one officer was spooked when she allegedly thought a woman coming to the door was carrying a gun, according to ABC. Both officers appeared to begin firing into the house at that moment.
Eboni Pouncy, a friend of the woman who lived in the house, was the person the police allegedly shot five times in the torso and leg, according to Ben Crump, Pouncy’s attorney, ABC reported. Pouncy had reportedly been out with the owner of the house when said owner realized upon their return that she had forgotten her keys. The owner asked Pouncy to break the window so they could get into her house, according to the outlet. This act was reportedly mistaken for burglary by a neighbor who tipped off law enforcement.
Roughly 20 minutes following their entry into the house, the pair overhead someone knocking on the door, according to the owner, ABC reported. Poucy allegedly took her gun before making for the door, then was fired at by the police, the owner reportedly added.
“The shooting of Eboni Pouncy should never have happened, and this newly-released body cam footage is evidence of the unnecessary and excessive force used against her,” Ben Crump wrote in part in a statement tweeted out by his law firm.
NEWS ALERT: @AttorneyCrump responds to the release of police body cam footage in the shooting of Eboni Pouncy, a woman who was shot five times by Harris County Sheriff’s Deputies on Feb. 3 in her friend’s home. pic.twitter.com/pxZ6GU2oWT
— Ben Crump Law, PLLC (@BenCrumpLaw) February 13, 2024
Pouncy, who was allegedly armed, survived the shooting, ABC reported. The two officers were reportedly placed on administrative leave following the shooting, the HCSO said.
“I absolutely wish I hadn’t called, but at the same time, it’s like I really didn’t have a choice because I was thinking about not only my safety and my son, I was thinking about her safety and her son as well,” Robert Mitchell, the neighbor who tipped off police, said, ABC 13 reported.