The Houston Police Department has released a horrifying dashcam video showing the moment a 41-year-old woman was mowed down by a police officer in front of her screaming children. The incident took place on September 19, 2024, and the dashcam and body camera video were made public on Wednesday, ABC 13 reported.
The newly released footage shows the woman, Desire Pool, getting hit by the Houston Police cruiser while she was crossing the street alongside her son and daughter. The incident was reported at around 10 PM. Meanwhile, it also features a fourth person standing on an island in the middle of the street.
Officer Shelby Kennedy was travelling along Antoine near Pinemont when she drove at full speed into a group at 9:52 PM on September 19.
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HPD have released dashcam and bodycam video from a deadly pedestrian struck collision on the northwest side involving a patrol car.
The crash happened on Sept. 19 just before 10 p.m. along Antoine Drive near the Pinemont Drive intersection.— Shane B. Murphy (@shanermurph) November 27, 2024
As the family saw the vehicle coming, everyone somehow jumped out of the way, except for Desire Pool.
Officer Joshua Rosales, who is Kennedy’s partner, is heard screaming at her as he sits in the passenger’s seat of the vehicle.
“Whoa, Whoa, Whoa. Oh, my…God! You didn’t see them?” Rosales shouted immediately after Pool was hit by the vehicle.
Kennedy said, “No.”
“Oh my… God, Kennedy,” Rosales said.
A video of Kennedy’s body camera later shows the victim’s children screaming at them and crying, while the two officers tried to administer CPR and called for an ambulance to the accident spot.
Pool was immediately rushed to a nearby hospital but was soon pronounced dead, authorities said.
“My mom! Y’all killed my mom,” one of her children can be heard screaming at the officers in the video.
At the time of the incident, the officers were transporting an arrested suspect to the Joint Processing Center, the early investigation revealed.
While they have not released details about how fast the officer was driving, investigators don’t believe speed was a factor in the accident and have stated that Pool was not standing in a crosswalk at the time of the crash.
The victim’s family from Illinois claimed the police officials did not show them the footage earlier before releasing it in public. They feel that its timing is insensitive.
“I’m really upset, surprised, and horrified at the way the accident went down. For this to come out a day before Thanksgiving that’s disrespectful. It’s the lowest thing you can do. It’s like putting salt in a wound,” Pool’s uncle Lee Gordon said.
Gordon said Pool has left behind four children, two of whom are dealing with the trauma of witnessing their mother’s killing.