The Rev. Al Sharpton mentioned Ms. Turner during the funeral service for Mr. Floyd on June 8. At a news conference a day earlier in Houston, Mr. Crump stood at a lectern full of microphones, with a mask hanging off his left ear. He said he was joined by other lawyers who would provide updates “not only on the Floyd case, but on the Ahmaud Arbery case, on the Breonna Taylor case, on the Pamela Turner case!”
“I mean, it’s so many things — too many to name,” Mr. Crump said, shaking his head.
As the case against Officer Delacruz proceeds, questions remain about his encounter with Ms. Turner, which took place in the parking lot of her apartment complex. That night, Lieutenant Dorris said that the encounter was initiated by Officer Delacruz, who had spotted Ms. Turner in her apartment complex and knew she had outstanding arrest warrants. A spokesman for the Harris County District Attorney’s Office said on Monday that Ms. Turner had a misdemeanor criminal mischief charge that was filed against her on May 1, 2019, and a misdemeanor assault charge filed on April 25, 2019.
When Officer Delacruz tried to arrest Ms. Turner, they struggled, the lieutenant said.
In video of the encounter that was taken by a bystander, Ms. Turner and Officer Delacruz are seen standing near a parked car. “I’m walking, I’m actually walking to my house,” she says. “You’re actually harassing me.”
Then, a pop sound is heard, and Ms. Turner falls to the ground, with Officer Delacruz on top of her. She yells “I’m pregnant” and struggles with the officer, who backs away from Ms. Turner. Images from the video stop but the audio continues, and several gunshots can be heard.
The police have said that Ms. Turner was not pregnant.
In a news conference later that evening, Lieutenant Dorris told reporters that Officer Delacruz had initially shot Ms. Turner with his Taser. But, he said, she “was able to get the officer’s Taser away from him and actually Tase the officer, which forced the officer to draw his duty weapon and fire multiple rounds at the suspect.”
“If you’ve ever been struck with a Taser,’’ the lieutenant added, “it’s a very painful experience.”
Ms. Turner’s family members and their lawyer have disputed that account, saying the specific Taser model used by the officer could not be fired a second time without being manually reloaded, which they say Ms. Turner would not have been able to do in such an encounter.
On Monday, Lieutenant Dorris declined to say whether Officer Delacruz had been shot with his own Taser. He referred questions to the Texas Rangers and the local district attorney’s office, both of which handled the criminal investigation. The Police Department’s own administrative investigation is continuing, he said.
A message seeking comment from the Texas Rangers was not immediately returned.