'You didn't see them?!': HPD releases footage showing moment when officer hit and killed mother

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- The family of a mother who was hit and killed by a Houston police officer back on Sept. 19 is outraged after watching the dashcam and body camera video of the incident. They said the footage was not shown to them before the Houston Police Department released it publicly Wednesday.

The dashcam video shows Officer Shelby Kennedy traveling along Antoine near Pinemont at 9:52 p.m. when she drove into a group of three people standing on the road. A fourth person could be seen standing on an island in the middle of the street.

RELATED: Woman dies after being hit in front of her kids by HPD unit transporting suspect

Everyone managed to jump out of harm's way except for Desire Pool.

The backseat passenger, a suspect being transported by the officers to the Joint Processing Center, could be heard screaming as he sat in the passenger's seat of the HPD vehicle during the crash.

"Whoa! Whoa! Whoa! Oh, my (explicit) God! You didn't see them?" the passenger exclaimed in the video.

"No!" Kennedy replied.

Kennedy's body camera video shows Pool's children screaming and crying at their mother's side as officers administered CPR and called for an ambulance. Pool, 41, was later pronounced dead at the hospital.

One of Pool's children could be heard yelling in the footage, "My mom! Y'all killed my mom!"

They don't believe speed was a factor but have not released details about how fast Kennedy was driving. They said Pool was not standing in a crosswalk during the crash.

Pool's family, who lives in Illinois, told ABC13 that HPD did not show them the video before releasing it to the public and feel that the timing is insensitive.

"I'm really upset, surprised, and horrified at the way the accident went down. For this to come out a day before Thanksgiving, that's disrespectful. It's the lowest thing you can do. It's like putting salt in a wound," said Lee Gordon, Pool's uncle. "This whole family is hurting because of that one night that the police weren't paying attention. She is going to be truly missed."

A spokesperson for HPD told ABC13 that they invited the victim's next of kin to come to view the dashcam and body camera video in person at the police station. But since they live out of state, HPD said they informed the family that the video would then be posted publicly and a link would be shared with them.

Gordon said Pool leaves behind four children, two of which are now dealing with the trauma of witnessing their mother's death. Their family is now trying to figure out how to move forward as they wait for 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," Gordon said. "I really want to see justice done. We need more than a public apology. We want to see that officer held accountable."

HPD said they are currently conducting two investigations, one with their internal affairs department and the other with their vehicular crimes division. Once completed, the findings will be presented to the Harris County District Attorney's Office for a decision, which is also conducting its own independent investigation.

For more on this story, follow Rosie Nguyen on Facebook, X and Instagram.