More than two months after a woman was fatally struck by a Houston Police Department vehicle, her family is furious to learn that the officer seen in dashcam footage of the incident has returned to active duty.
Officer Shelby Kennedy’s reinstatement follows the release of the disturbing video of the crash by Houston PD on Nov. 27.
Dashcam footage from Kennedy’s vehicle showed her apparently speeding down a dark road on Sept. 19 when she plowed into 41-year-old Desire Pool, who had been crossing the street with two of her children and a friend.
The others leaped out of the way at the last second to avoid being hit, while a fourth individual witnessed the horrifying crash from an island in the road where Pool was run over.
Police said two investigations are underway — one by their internal affairs department and the other by the vehicular crimes division. The findings will be submitted to the Harris County District Attorney’s Office, which is also conducting its own independent investigation into the crash.
At the time of the collision, a suspect in the backseat who was being transported to the Harris County Jail could be heard crying out in shock.
“Whoa! Whoa! Whoa! Oh, my (explicit) God! You didn’t see them?” he shouted at the officer. “No!” Kennedy yelled in the video.
One of Pool’s children could be heard yelling, “My mom! Y’all killed my mom!”
Pool, a mother of four, was rushed to the hospital, where she was pronounced dead.
Family members of the victim, who traveled from Illinois, said the footage was not shown to them before police released it publicly last week.
Police officials said they don’t believe speed was a factor in the accident but, citing the ongoing investigation, have not released details on the officer’s speed at the time of the crash. The speed limit where the crash happened is 35 mph.
The footage shows the perspective of the driver traveling along Antoine near Pinemont at 9:52 p.m., when the squad car appeared out of nowhere, catching the unsuspecting group in the middle of the road.
Investigators noted that the victim was not in a marked crosswalk. However, Pool’s mother, Patricia Barnes, insists Officer Kennedy should have been more focused on the road.
“What was she doing that she didn’t see these people in the street?” Barnes said, according to KTRK, the ABC affiliate in Houston. “Her passenger saw them, and he wasn’t even driving.”
Barnes explained that the group had just exited a public bus and were crossing the road. When asked why they stopped and stood in the middle of the street, she declined to provide further details, stating that the family is considering legal action.
“I’m not going to let this go. This was a mother, a sister, a daughter, a cousin, a friend,” Barnes said.
Despite the ongoing investigation, the department confirmed that Officer Kennedy has since returned to duty after initially being placed on administrative leave. A spokesperson explained that this is standard procedure and does not suggest the officer has been cleared of any wrongdoing — a stance that Barnes believes is unjustified.
“I feel horrified that she’s back on the street. How could you hit and kill a mother in front of her children and be back on the streets within two months?” Barnes asked. “Kennedy needs to take accountability for what she did. There needs to be some type of punishment. She should not be able to go back to work.”
Previously, family members said they were struggling to move forward as they awaited 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,” said Lee Gordon, Pool’s uncle. “I really want to see justice done. We need more than a public apology. We want to see that officer held accountable.”
