Three Dallas-Area Cops Indicted Following George Floyd Protest Police Response

A grand jury in Dallas County, Texas, indicted three police officers for allegedly assaulting protesters in the wake of the George Floyd murder.

The grand jury handed down multiple indictments against two Dallas Police Department officers and an officer from the Garland Police Department, WFAA ABC8 reported. The two Dallas officers were previously charged in February.

The Dallas County grand jury indicted Dallas Senior Corporal Melvin Williams, and Senior Corporal Ryan Mabry — both assigned to the Dallas SWAT team. Friday’s indictment also included Garland police officer Joe Privitt.

NBCDFW NBC5 reports that Maybry faces eight indictments including six for aggravated assault by a public servant and two for deadly conduct. These charges are in addition to three counts of official oppression which were handed down in February.

Williams faces six counts — four for aggravated assault by a public servant and two for deadly conduct — on top of the two official oppression charges announced in February.

Officer Privitt faces a single count of aggravated assault by a public servant.

Dallas Police Chief Eddie Garcia appeared to support his officers after the indictment, saying:

I simply just hope that someone can look at it thru the lens of officers in those chaotic situations. Was every situation perfect? Absolutely not, there is no police chief who dealt with protests that can tell you everything they did was perfect. However, I can tell you that the intent of the officers was to protect the city and I’m not quite sure if there was criminal intent. So again, we’ll see where that goes.

Garland Police Chief Jeff Bryan added, “In response, officers attempting to stop the rioting were often required to make split-second decisions under the most dangerous of circumstances to protect their lives and the lives and property of the citizens of Dallas, often placing themselves in harm’s way while doing so.”

Dallas Police Association President Michael Mata said the officers acted consistently with their training. “There’s no way that you’re going to get me to understand or even say that those officers went out there to intentionally cause, maim or injure people. That is not what they did out there,” Mata explained.