Attorney Ben Crump files a federal lawsuit against Harris County and two deputies for shooting Eboni Pouncy during a mistaken burglary response.
HOUSTON — A federal lawsuit has been filed against Harris County and two sheriff’s deputies on behalf of a woman who was shot five times during what authorities thought was a burglary response in February 2024.
Attorney Ben Crump filed the lawsuit in the Southern District of Texas on Monday on behalf of Eboni Pouncy, who was helping a friend break into her own apartment when Harris County Sheriff’s Office deputies responded to a neighbor’s burglary report.
The incident occurred on February 3, 2024, at the Pines of Woodforest apartment complex on Uvalde Road in Houston. According to the lawsuit, Pouncy and her friend had returned from dinner but discovered the friend had left her apartment key at the restaurant. Rather than wait for a locksmith, they decided to break a window to enter the apartment.
Body camera footage shows deputies knocking on the door and identifying themselves as “Sheriff’s Office” before taking cover positions. The lawsuit states that deputies saw Pouncy with a gun through the window and immediately opened fire without adequate warning.
The lawsuit alleges that Deputies Christina E. Ray and Leslie E. Tovar used excessive force in violation of Pouncy’s Fourth Amendment rights. According to court documents, Pouncy was carrying a lawfully owned 9mm handgun for personal safety, but was holding it pointed at the floor and never raised it or assumed a shooting stance.
Pouncy sustained five gunshot wounds, including injuries to her chest, abdomen, thigh, leg, and foot. The lawsuit details that some bullets remain lodged in her body and that she suffered permanent nerve damage, scarring, and ongoing physical and psychological injuries including PTSD.
The case names Ray and Tovar as individual defendants along with Harris County. The lawsuit seeks compensatory and punitive damages, as well as declaratory relief and an apology from the defendants.
“What happened to Eboni Pouncy is a horrifying example of the dangers Black Americans face when interacting with law enforcement,” said Crump in an emailed news release. “Eboni was lawfully inside her friend’s apartment, posed no threat, and never had the chance to understand what was happening before she was shot five times by deputies. We must hold these deputies and the department that empowered them accountable.”
No hearing dates have been set for the federal lawsuit, which was filed in Houston’s federal courthouse according to online court records.