Another unarmed Black man was fatally shot by a Harris County Sheriff’s Office deputy on Thursday in the Greater Greenspoint area of Houston, Texas.
Authorities said 34-year-old Danny Ray Thomas had an object in his hand, but the Sheriff Office spokesman Jason Spencer told the Houston Chronicle “we have not recovered a weapon at this point.” Witnesses claim the 34-year-old was reportedly “walking in the middle of the intersection of Imperial Valley and Greens Road with his pants around his ankles, talking to himself and hitting vehicles as they passed by.”
Thomas apparently then struck a white vehicle, and the driver exited and engaged in a physical altercation with him. A police officer arrived and “fearing for his safety, the deputy discharged his duty weapon, striking Thomas once in the chest,” Houston Police said after officials claim Thomas ignored instructions from the unidentified deputy.
The victim’s sister Marketa Thomas, told reporters that her brother suffered from depression and mental illness.
“Knowing that he was OK when I woke up every day made me fine… And knowing that my brother is no longer here – you think I’m going to be fine? I’m not going to be fine. That’s my brother,” she said with tears in her eyes.
The 34-year-old was the father of two children who allegedly were drowned in a bathtub by their mother, Sheborah Thomas in 2016. The children were only 5 and 7 years old.
The name of the officer has not been released.