The Houston Police Department has released the body camera footage of the moment a police officer struck and killed a mother on Sept. 19.
The victim's family is now outraged, stating that the footage was not shown to them before HPD released it publicly on Wednesday, Nov. 27.
'You Didn't See Them?'
The dashcam video shows Officer Shelby Kennedy traveling along Antoine near Pinemont at 9:52 p.m. when she drove at full speed into a group of three people standing on the road. A fourth person could be seen standing on an island in the middle of the street.
Everyone managed to jump out of harm's way except for Desire Pool. Kennedy's partner, Officer Joshua Rosales, can be heard screaming as he sat in the passenger's seat of the HPD vehicle during the crash.
"Whoa! Whoa! Whoa! Oh, my (explicit) God! You didn't see them?" Rosales exclaimed in the video.
"No!" Kennedy replied.
'Ya'll Killed My Mom'
Kennedy's body camera video shows Pool's children screaming and crying at their mother's side as officers administered CPR and called for an ambulance. Pool, 41, was later pronounced dead at the hospital.
One of Pool's children could be heard yelling in the footage, "My mom! Y'all killed my mom!"
Investigators previously said the officers were transporting an arrested suspect to the Joint Processing Center at the time of the crash. They don't believe speed was a factor but have not released any specific details about the speed at which Kennedy was driving. They said Pool was not standing in a crosswalk during the crash.
Pool's Family Outraged Over Release of the Video
Pool's family, who lives in Illinois, told ABC13 that HPD did not show them the video before releasing it to the public and feel that the 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," said Lee Gordon, Pool's uncle. "This whole family is hurting because of that one night that the police weren't paying attention. She is going to be truly missed."
Gordon said Pool is survived by four children, two of which are now dealing with the trauma of witnessing their mother's death. Their family is now trying to figure out how to move forward as they wait for the outcome of the investigation.
"Her two children saw their mother get mowed down in the street. They're having nightmares. We're trying our best to get them mental health care so we can get them back to normal," Gordon said. "I really want to see justice done. We need more than a public apology. We want to see that officer held accountable."
