Christine Dages, the wife of former police officer Matthew Dages, says the left-wing state has put her family “through the fires of hell” after her husband was wrongfully vilified and accused of a felony in regards to a 2020 arrest of a suspect in La Mesa, California.
In an exclusive interview with SiriusXM Patriot’s Breitbart News Saturday, Christine Dages detailed her husband’s case that sent social justice and Black Lives Matter (BLM) activists protesting outside their home in La Mesa in 2020 around the same time as George Floyd’s death in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
LISTEN:
“On May 27, 2020, Matthew, my husband, was working as a police officer for the city of La Mesa. He was working a detail with other officers and he was involved in a very low-level use of force against a combative subject who had already assaulted Matthew,” Christine Dages said.
“His department deemed his use of force justified but the subject posted a video of their interaction online with the hashtag ‘George Floyd’ and it went viral. There were riots for days and the city burned down,” she continued. “Social justice activists called Matthew a racist and they demanded that he be fired and criminally charged for just doing his job.”
“When the city burned down, we actually had protests at our home as well,” Christine Dages said. “Our personal information was doxed online so we had to move. So we no longer live here … however, it’s really interesting, I feel like our story and what the city of La Mesa is doing to us is a cautionary tale for police families on what can happen in left-led cities when political pressure is applied.”
At the time, Christine Dages said La Mesa politicians “bowed to the mob” and used her husband as a scapegoat to end the destructive riots — firing him from the police department and criminally charging him with one felony count of filing a false police report to arrest the suspect.
In December 2021, after only about a days worth of deliberating, a California jury found Matthew Dages not guilty of the felony charge. Now, Christine Dages said her family is fighting to get her husband’s job back.
“The best way I can describe it is walking through the fires of hell. It’s been constant agony, not just for us as newlyweds — we got married just before this incident — but for our entire family,” Christine Dages said. “It feels like walking through fire because my husband is a white police officer who did his job so we’re people of faith which has helped keep our heads above water. It’s been agonizing on every level and I would not wish that hell on anyone.”
“Yes, he was acquitted last month and victory is so wonderful but our battle is far from over. We’re almost two years into this and we’re still fighting,” she continued. “It has been emotionally, mentally, agonizing on every level.”
Though the police union helped with Matthew Dages’ defense, it did not cover all costs. As a result, the Dages family has spent close to $100,000 of their own money to secure an acquittal and win a reinstatement hearing from a California superior court judge.
Readers looking to donate can visit the couple’s page on Instagram here and donate here.
“We’re fundraising for the exorbitant amount of money that it has cost our family to protect Matthew’s freedom … not all legal fees have been covered by Matthew’s union,” Christine Dages said. “100 percent of donations will support Matthew in clearing his name.”
Other law enforcement agencies in California and around the nation have reached out to offer Matthew Dages a job, expressing their support for his defense, his wife said. First, though, Matthew needs his police officer status back.
“We kind of had to learn the hard way that California is one of the worst places to be a police officer and it’s very dangerous in terms of its political structure for police families,” Christine Dages said.
“We really are seeing this play out nationally with the left demonizing police tactics and really prioritizing criminals over cops,” she continued. “So that was really eye-opening for me as a police wife.”
John Binder is a reporter for Breitbart News. Email him at jbinder@breitbart.com. Follow him on Twitter here.
COMMENTS
Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting.