A Dallas police officer has been indicted for aggravated assault by a grand jury stemming from an incident where he fatally shot 21-year-old Genevive Dawes in a moving vehicle, reports the Guardian.
In January, after receiving a suspicious person report, officers Christopher Hess and Jason Kimpel came across Dawes, who was a mother of two, and her partner Virgilio Rosales sleeping in a vehicle near downtown Dallas, writes the source. Unbeknownst to Dawes, the car that the two were sleeping in was reportedly stolen but she thought that she legally purchased it.
According to the outlet, when the officers came towards the Dodge SUV with flashlights, Dawes panicked and attempted to put the car in reverse and crashed into a police car that was coming towards her. After that occurred, Officer Hess and Kimpel fired 13 rounds into the vehicle harming Dawes, writes the source. She was transported to Baylor Hospital where she was later pronounced dead.
Following the incident her mother, Mary Dawes, filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against the two officers involved, the police department, and the city of Dallas; claiming that there was excessive force used, reports the outlet.
Daryl Washington, the family’s lawyer, says that although Hess wasn’t charged with murder, he’s glad that some form of justice was served. “We are happy that there may be some justice in this case because the death of Genevive was definitely preventable,” Washington told the Guardian.
Hess is currently on administrative leave and the department has launched an internal probe, writes the source.
Lax consequences for law enforcement officials who have shot civilians has garnered a lot of media attention.
On June 16, the officer responsible for fatally shooting Philando Castile during a traffic stop in Minnesota last year was found not guilty. In April, 15-year-old unarmed Jordan Edwards was fatally shot by a Balch Springs police officer who was later charged with murder only after there were loopholes discovered in the police’s account, according to the Guardian.
SOURCE: Guardian
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Texas Grand Jury Indicts Dallas Cop In Fatal Shooting Of Woman was originally published on newsone.com
