The chief of the Dallas Police Department defended her decision to charge a Black woman who was assaulted by a white man during a parking dispute.
Chief Renee Hall admitted watching footage of Austin Shuffield assaulting L’Daijonique Lee was difficult.
“Let's start with talking about the emotions of the people,” she told Fox 4 on Tuesday. “In law enforcement to see a woman — I’m a woman — get beaten by a man so violently, we're angry. I’m angry.”
Despite her feelings about the video, Hall doesn’t believe they factor into her decision to charge Lee with a felony for vandalizing Shuffield’s truck.
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“He wanted to press charges, and that is our responsibility as law enforcement,” she said. “The day we start picking and choosing which crimes we will and won’t push forward is the day we become the corruption that some police, or some people believe, that the police department is.”
Lee, 24, was charged with a felony criminal mischief charge for breaking Shuffield’s back windshield with a jump box. The charges were dropped after Dallas County District Attorney John Creuzot rejected the case, as Blavity previously reported.
Hall believes there was a breakdown in communication.
“Could we have handled that situation differently from a communication standpoint with the district attorney? Absolutely,” she said. “The district attorney and myself should have had a conversation. This was an area where we should have talked personally to make sure we were executing something that he was willing to push forward.”
The conflict started in March when Lee pulled into a parking lot and boxed in Shuffield’s pickup truck. The 30-year-old man demanded she move her car, and an argument ensued. When Lee saw the man had a gun, she tried to call the police, and he knocked her phone out of her hand. After Lee slapped him in retaliation, Shuffield beat her until she was unconscious.
My blood is boiling ….smh …
This is Austin Shuffield of Dallas, Texas in this video brutally beating on a black women, she was trying to call the police but this THUG decides to knock the phone out of her hand and beats her…the whole time gun in hand! pic.twitter.com/LQj6k520Vw— Scatman News (@NewsScatman) April 3, 2019
He was initially charged with a misdemeanor, but the charge was upgraded to aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. Shuffield is also facing charges for interfering with an emergency call, public intoxication, unlawful possession of a weapon and other lesser assault charges, reports CBS DFW. His first court appearance is scheduled for Friday.
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