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BAYTOWN, Texas (AP) – A police officer killed a woman in an apartment building in the Houston area after striking her with a taser during a shocking, shocking fight. the police said.
In a video recorded by a witness and published on social media, we can see the officer stand above Pamela Turner and bend down to try to take her arms. Turner, lying on the floor in front of the Baytown apartments, shouts, "I'm pregnant." Moments later, something flashes as she reaches for the officer. Suddenly, the officer moves away from Turner, recoils and fires five shots.
Police Lieutenant Steve Dorris said on Tuesday that the officer had shot Turner after striking in the groin with the Taser. Turner did not shoot the stun gun but it shocked the officer when he hit him, Dorris said.
The lieutenant said the police had since learned from the County of Harris Medical Examiner's office that Turner, a 44-year-old Black man, was not pregnant. She was declared dead at the scene, he said. A spokeswoman for the medical examiner's office declined to comment.
The officer, whom the police did not identify by name, was put on paid administrative leave, said Dorris. The ministry is currently reviewing whether the shootings were consistent with its policy on the use of lethal force, he said.
Prior to the shootings, the policeman, Hispanic and police veteran for eleven years, patrolled the apartment complex and attempted to arrest Turner because he knew that she had problems. outstanding mandates, said Dorris. The two had already had relationships, but Dorris did not provide more details about Turner's interactions or mandates.
Turner had three outstanding criminal warrants for two separate incidents, according to Harris County Court records. She was charged with mischief and criminal assault on April 25, after a director of her building told police that Turner had scratched her face and had broken them. glasses during a clash following a notice of expulsion.
The court records show that Turner was again charged with criminal mischief for damaging the rear window of a woman's car.
According to her trial, Turner was sentenced to undergo an assessment of her mental health status following her arrest on May 2.
The video of what happened Monday night shows that the officer and Turner engaged in a fight after he tried to stop him. In the video, we hear Turner say "you harass me" and "I walk home" before falling to the ground. While she is on the back, she seems to be fighting with the officer, saying, "Why? Why? "And then" I'm pregnant. "
The investigators try to contact whoever recorded the video, because the person witnessed the shooting, said the lieutenant.
"This is a tragic event for everyone involved," Dorris said. "Of course, our heart goes to the family of the deceased as well as to our officer."
Tuesday afternoon, Turner's neighbors gathered not far from a painted orange ring on the parking lot of the apartment complex to mark the place where she had been shot. In the middle of the modest brick and aluminum houses, one of Turner's neighbors said the incident scared her.
"It's just sad – very sad – to see someone walking around in the last six months," said Jennifer Sims. "Even if you do not talk to them, you watch them, you know. And then you wake up and realize, 'Oh, my God. She was touched so close to home. It's scary and very sad.
Baytown, a city of more than 75,000, is about 40 km east of Houston. According to the US Census Bureau, its population is 35% White, 46% Artists and 16% Black.
Outside the police station of the city Tuesday, a dozen protesters gathered with signs bearing the inscription "No Justice. No Peace "and" Black Lives Matter "are written on it.
"It's another black woman who lost her life," said Ashton P. Woods, an activist at Black Lives Matter Houston. "Another black person who lost his life, for senseless violence. Five shots. Without weapons."
Kevin Davis, a police detective and author of a book on police use of force investigations, said it was impossible to make a correct assessment of Turner's shooting from videos and facts reported to date.
Davis, who is not related to the case, said smartphone videos that became commonplace in police shootings can cause people to rush to do justice. "We owe it to everyone involved, including the deceased, to conduct a professional investigation," he said.
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