Harris County woman shot by deputies, activists call for investigation
Woman's apartment shot up, call for investigation
Harris County woman La'Ronda Berry's apartment was shot up by deputies over the weekend after she and her friend were trying to get into her apartment after being locked out but a neighbor assumed the women were breaking in. FOX 26's Jade Flury has more from the woman who is now speaking out.
HARRIS COUNTY, Texas - Community activists are calling for an independent investigation into the officer-involved shooting that left one woman injured on Saturday. It happened around 2 a.m. on Saturday.
Eboni Pouncy, 28, was shot multiple times by Harris County deputies when she was trying to break into her friend's apartment. A neighbor mistook the woman for a real break-in and called the police. When deputies arrived, they opened fire on Pouncy as she approached the door with a gun, which she said was for protection.
"We're asking for an independent investigation," said Quanell X, a civil rights activist. "We want an outside agency from the FBI to investigate this shooting. We don't trust the Texas Rangers. We don't trust the Harris County Sheriff's detectives. None of them."
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"The only crime that was committed was done by the police," said La'Ronda the tenant of the apartment. "I was thinking I was going to die. I was going to get shot up next.".
The department said they announced their presence while banging on the door, but Pouncy said she didn't hear them.
"The next thing I know, Eboni came back, and she said she was shot," said Berry.
Berry said Pouncy then urged her to go outside.
"After she said, if you don’t go out there, they’re going to come in here and kill us and not ask any questions," said Berry.
She said the most frustrating part was that she tried to explain to the police that she lived there.
"Once I said I lived here, I understand that’s their job, that’s protocol, but that should have been that. Guns should not have been still pointed at me," said Berry.
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Now, the tenant and her friend are seeking justice from the sheriff’s office for an incident they say should have never happened.
"Why in the hell wouldn’t you identify yourself first? Why didn’t you use your blowhorn? Why didn’t you circle the complex from front to back and use your radio and blowhorn to say come out with your hands up," asked Quanell X.
The Harris County Sheriff's Office said the deputies involved have been put on administrative leave.