A Dallas City Council member faces a potential grand jury indictment for allegedly trying to influence a city employee in the performance of her official duties, police say.
Councilman Scott Griggs, who represents District 1, was accused of improperly interfering with Assistant City Secretary Bilirae Johnson.
According to the narrative in a Dallas police report, Griggs allegedly approached Johnson on April 13 regarding an item that was to be discussed at a special meeting, telling Johnson, " You better not push those briefing materials out or I will break your [...] fingers!"
Dallas police referred the case to a Dallas County Grand Jury for review.
Dallas City Manager A.C. Gonzalez released a statement, saying, in part:
"Any allegations of this nature are taken seriously at the City of Dallas, and I want all City employees to know that their safety and security is my highest priority. I have the utmost confidence in Chief [David] Brown and the Dallas Police Department and the manner in which they have handled this investigation."
And Griggs released the following statement on Twitter:
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"According to Larry Friedman, attorney for Councilmember Scott Griggs, the charges against Councilmember Scott Griggs are unfounded, baseless, and without merit. Councilmember Griggs is well known for his integrity and for being a champion of transparency and accountability at City Hall. Co-Counsel for Councilmember Scott Griggs, Anthony Lyons, states this is an apparent effort to intimidate Scott Griggs and stop him from releasing information that he has pointing to wrongdoing at City Hall."
