A black woman was beaten by a white man with a gun. Police charged her with damaging his truck.
On the night when a gun was pulled, punches were thrown and car windows smashed, transforming Dallas into the latest flash point of criminal justice and race relations, everything began with a traffic dispute.
L’Daijohnique Lee was going the wrong way down a one-way street in the Deep Ellum neighborhood on March 21. She was dropping off a friend, she said. Austin Shuffield, 30, was trying to leave a parking lot. He tried to take a picture of her license plate. Lee, 24, threatened to mace him if he didn’t back away, WFAA reported, citing a police affidavit.
A bystander video captured what happened next. Shuffield, who is white, clutches a pistol at his side and steps toward Lee, who is black. She pulls out her phone to dial 911. Shuffield swats the phone to the ground and Lee connects a punch. Then Shuffield winds up for at least five hard blows to Lee’s head, sending her reeling. Then he kicks her phone down the street.
The video roared across social media and prompted calls for serious charges against Shuffield. But a felony charge landed first for Lee — the assault victim.
Lee was charged Tuesday with felony criminal mischief after allegedly smashing the windows of Shuffield’s truck after the incident. That decision triggered more protests in Dallas, including one planned at city hall Wednesday.
On Wednesday, the Dallas County district attorney’s office said Lee’s warrant was recalled. “The case has been declined for prosecution,” said Kimberlee Leach, a spokeswoman for the office. It was not immediately clear why.
The initial felony charge for Lee raised questions about whether it was appropriate for an assault victim.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/a-black-woman-was-beaten-by-a-white-man-with-a-gun-police-charged-her-with-damaging-his-truck/ar-BBVAD70?li=BBnbcA1
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public intoxication, interfering with an emergency call, and simple assault.
then they're asking the grand jury to also get him on unlawfully carrying a weapon and upgrading the assault charge to aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.
meanwhile, she confessed to damaging his windshield after the assault.
looks like the charges against her have been dropped, which is certainly good, but as a matter of process, i don't disagree that this was a call for the prosecutors.
seems normal to me for the police to process anyone who comes right out and confesses to a felony, even if they did it after being victimized by someone else's felony.
my involvement with police (aside from working with them as an emt once upon a time) has been limited to traffic situation, but it's normal in that context for the police to just ticket everyone involved and let the court system sort it out.
i once saw an accident and stuck around as a witness. my reward was getting a ticket for causing a non-contact collision ( )
fortunately i got out of it on my court date, but... really??
