Time Is Running Out to Prosecute Dallas Cops for Wrongdoing During Summer 2020 Protests

For the second time since the protests in the summer of 2020, the Dallas County District Attorney’s Office is asking people to come forward if they have information on alleged criminal wrongdoing by police officers.

The DA has video of what appears to show police misconduct, like shooting protesters directly with “less-lethal” ammunition. But these videos often don’t show enough, like who exactly shot at the protesters.

“There’s one incident, Mr. [Brandon] Saenz, who you are familiar with him. He’s the young man who lost his left eye. I’m going to be very blunt. We don’t know who shot him,” District Attorney John Creuzot said at a press conference yesterday.

Saenz was shot and severely injured during the summer protests. He says he was peacefully protesting when he was shot in the face with a “less-lethal” round. Saenz also lost several teeth, and his face was fractured as a result of the shot.

Last month, the DA’s office obtained an arrest warrant for a Dallas Police officer named Melvin Williams, who is accused of shooting a protest photographer in the face that summer. That man’s name is Vincent Doyle, who, along with Saenz, filed a civil suit against DPD and the city.

Williams turned himself in over the Doyle case. Williams and DPD Senior Cpl. Ryan Mabry and Officer Victor Rocha were all allegedly involved in some capacity with the shot that partially blinded Saenz, but their specific involvement is still unknown.

Creuzot showed video footage and images capturing these incidents, focusing on others who appeared to be filming or photographing at the same time. Those people and whatever documentation of the incidents they have may help the DA determine if there was any criminal wrongdoing.

"I’m going to be very blunt, we don’t know who shot [Brandon Saenz].” – Dallas County District Attorney John Creuzot

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“We don’t know if these people live in this community or if they’ll even see this,” Creuzot said. “We hope that they do or that someone knows them and that they’ll let us know.”

But it better happen sooner than later. “We’re on a deadline,” Creuzot said. “The deadline is called the statute of limitations. It’s coming up.”

The statute of limitations for most potential charges stemming from alleged police misconduct during the protests will expire at the end of May. Creuzot also said pursuing these cases is difficult because they don’t have enough information in some, and owing to laws dealing with what police can do during riots. “All of this law and things around this is new,” Creuzot said.

The videos and images the DA showed at the press conference covered three incidents.

On May 30, 2020, around 5:30 p.m., an “unknown male appears to be shot in buttocks by ‘less-lethal’ ammunition in a parking lot on South Ervay Street,” according to the DA’s office. “It appears to us that that person, and that’s a 40mm device, that person is hit in the rear end,” Creuzot said.

Creuzot’s office is trying to identify the person who was shot as well as people who had camera equipment also seen in the video.

The second was the Saenz case.

The third incident occurred on May 30, 2020, around 5:42 p.m., on Ervay Street. Video appeared to show an unknown man getting shot in the groin by “less-lethal” ammunition. In a video shown by the DA, after the shot is fired, someone yells, “Yes sir! Yes sir!” Laughter can also be heard in the video, and another person appears to say, “Good shot, sir!”

Creuzot said it was a 40mm projectile.

His office said that according to the Dallas Police Department’s protocol at the time, officers who shot “less lethal” rounds were supposed to collect the projectile if feasible, direct the person hit to medical help, notify their supervisor that they discharged their weapon, and by the end of their shift, complete a report detailing the incident. None of these steps were taken, the DA’s office said.

Bryan Mitchell, with the DA’s public integrity unit said, “We can’t get justice for Brandon through the criminal justice system because we don’t know who shot him, and we should know that. If policies and procedures were followed, we should know.”

While his office recognizes and respects the officers job to keep the public safe, the DA said, the videos they’ve seen depict alarming behavior by the police officers.

“From everything we have, we believe this activity is illegal and unjustified,” Creuzot said. “We need names. We need a person.”