Dallas’ DA Calmed the Storm After a Black Woman Was Beaten Then Charged With a Crime

Sometimes, a district attorney does a bigger service to a community by choosing not to prosecute.That’s why we offer our praise to Dallas County District Attorney John Creuzot for dropping the charges this week against a woman seen on a disturbing videotape being repeatedly punched by a man after a dispute in a Deep Ellum parking lot.Austin Shuffield faces four counts of misdemeanor assault and a felony charge of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.But we join Creuzot in being surprised to see the Dallas Police Department press charges against the woman Shuffield is seen beating, L'Daijohnique Lee.Lee, who was hospitalized after the assault, briefly faced a felony criminal mischief charge for breaking Shuffield’s back window after she was beaten.Police Chief Renee Hall told reporters her department had the responsibility to handle Lee’s case like any other. The department investigated, determined a crime had been committed, filed charges and sent the case to the DA, Hall said.But this case was not like any other. And it’s hard to understand why the chief would have treated it that way. It was painful to watch a man use such violence against a woman on the streets of our community. It’s why there was such outrage after the video surfaced and the reason protests sparked after Lee was charged.  Continue reading...