Want the best from VICE News in your inbox? Sign up here.Update 5/16 6:07 p.m.: Police confirmed that the women wasn't pregnant, according to the Associated Press.A police officer shot and killed a 45-year-old black woman Monday night in Baytown, Texas, after a struggle over the officer’s Taser.The officer was patrolling an apartment complex in the Houston suburb when he saw a woman, identified by family as Pamela Turner, who he knew had outstanding warrants, according to a statement from Baytown Police Department Lt. Steve Dorris. When the officer approached her and tried to arrest her, the situation quickly escalated. Video recorded by a witness appears to show the officer Tasing the woman, who drops to the ground. She then appears to take control of his Taser.“It appears that as the officer was then attempting to handcuff the female she was able to gain control of his Taser and turned it on the officer, Tasing the officer, which forced the officer to draw his duty weapon and fire multiple rounds at the female, striking her at least once,” Dorris said.The officer fired his weapon five times. His name hasn't been released, but Dorris called him an “11-year veteran” of the force. Police also don’t know who recorded the video but are seeking the person as a witness.In the graphic video, which spread quickly online, the woman also yells multiple times that she’s pregnant, although police haven’t been able to verify that."I'm walking! I'm actually walking to my house," the women says in the video. She also tells the officer that he’s “harassing” her.Police said they believed the officer was wearing a body camera but that the footage would not immediately be released during the investigation.Warning: The video below contains graphic and violent content.
Cover image: Screenshot from bystander video
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“It's unfortunate that somebody takes a tragic incident like this and posts it on social media,” Dorris said to KPRC. “It's extremely disrespectful for everybody involved, but that's the day and age we live in with social media.”Witnesses said the woman was frequently seen out walking her dogs. “Sometimes you would see her, you know, get into it with people around the apartments, but nothing too, you know, bad," Raquel Cuellar told CBS News. "It's just, you know, just typical her. She's not a bad person. She didn't hurt nobody."The Houston chapter of Black Lives Matter also posted to Facebook that the police department’s statement was an an “attempt to cover their own asses by criminalizing a Black woman” and urged people to hold them accountable.