March 2024. Blues Vol 40 No. 3

At that point a female

At that point a female (later identified as Eboni Pouncy) inside of the apartment approached the door holding a handgun. Deputies were able to observe this through the window. As Ms. Pouncy approached the door deputies fired their handguns. Ms. Pouncey was struck five times, but she survived. It turns out that Ms. Pouncy had permission from the owner to remove the screen and break the window to gain access to the apartment - as she had lost the key. QUESTIONS 1. Was it reasonable for the deputies to believe that a residential burglary had taken place? a. Yes. There was glass on the ground and a screen was removed. 2. Was it reasonable for deputies to believe that Ms. Pouncy was an offender of the residential burglary? a. Yes. If it is reasonable that a burglary had taken place - then a person inside of the residence would likely be the offender. 3. Was it reasonable for deputies to be in fear for their safety as Ms. Pouncy approached the door holding a handgun? a. Yes. Deputies had reason to believe that Ms. Pouncy had just committed a felony and she was walking towards the door holding a gun. This is after the deputies knocked and announced their presence. NOW WHAT? The issue is not that the deputies properly identified a dangerous situation. The issue is how the deputies responded to that deadly threat. CLICK TO TAP TO WATCH Writing this article, I have the luxury of time to carefully think through all the possible police responses from the safety of my home. The deputies had seconds as they thought that an armed felon was approaching. Never forget that when breaking down police incidents. The reality is that once Ms. Pouncy was approaching the door with the gun - there was seconds for the deputies to decide. Any suggestion to improve tactics/response must come before this moment. When the deputies were alerted to a possible residential burglary from a neighbor - they could have conducted more investigation before making contact at the apartment. • The deputies could have tried to contact the registered owner. • Essentially the deputies went to investigate a felony crime with no identifiable victim. • The deputies could have set a perimeter and used a PA system or yelled from behind cover to contact any occupants in the apartment. These suggestions are not perfect and may not have changed the outcome. But police leaders and trainers must give police officers some tools, tactics, and the education of what the best practices are to respond to this type of incident. Final Thoughts This police shooting is not illegal. It is also likely not even a violation of department use of force policy. A reasonable police officer would be able to articulate a specific deadly, imminent threat in a situation like this. The final question is - how long should have deputies have waited to fire their weapons? If the answer is - once the door opens and the gun is pointed at the cops. OK. That is a situation where virtually we all agree that using deadly force is reasonable. But that is also the last stop at the train station and if an officer waits until that point - they are likely taking fire. So, the realm of what is objectively reasonable has to extend at least a 1 or 2 seconds earlier. 16 The Blues - March ‘24 The Blues - March ‘24 17