‘This is one of the worst days of my life’: Jawan Dallas’ family views body camera video from July police encounter

MOBILE, Ala. (WALA) -Back in July, Jawan Dallas died after Mobile police say he was tased twice after a struggle with an officer. Since then, the family and their supporters have demanded the release of the body camera video from that night. Wednesday morning the family and their attorneys were finally able to see what happened.

“I put it right up there with George Floyd,” said Civil Rights Attorney Harry Daniels.

MPD says officers approached Dallas while responding to a nearby call. Civil Rights Attorney Harry Daniels says Dallas told them he had done nothing wrong. After they asked for his ID, Daniels says Dallas tried to run. That’s when the struggle began.

“He was screaming, begging for help,” said Daniels. “At one point he said I do not want to be George Floyd.”

Daniels said Dallas was eventually placed in the back of squad car where he fainted.

“He was pulled out of the car, multiple chest compressions given to him. He never regained consciousness,” said Daniels.

Watching the incident back was extremely difficult for Dallas’ family.

“This is one of the worst days of my life. I seen my son actually die,” said Jawan’s father Phil Williams.

Since the incident a Mobile County grand jury has cleared both officers of any wrongdoing and the medical examiners said Dallas’ death was caused by underlying health issues and drug use that were exacerbated by the struggle with officers.

Daniels refutes claims that Dallas reached for the officer’s taser and that he started the confrontation.

“District Attorney Blackwood said the other day Jawan initiated officers. That’s a damn lie. That’s not true. They initiated him,” added Daniels. “They unlawfully initiated him, unlawfully asked him for his identification which the state of Alabama doesn’t require one to do so.”

The attorneys for Dallas’ family say they plan to file a civil lawsuit.

We received this statement from Mobile Mayor Sandy Stimpson:

The loss of a son is tragic under any circumstances. The Dallas family and their representatives met with members of the administration earlier today to view the body camera footage related to this case. While the loss of life is never the intended outcome of any interaction with the Mobile Police Department, the cause of death in this case was clearly due to cardiorespiratory failure and mixed drug intoxication. The family has a right to their interpretation of the video, however the video is only one piece of all the evidence presented to the grand jury. There are still ongoing investigations and expected civil action. For those reasons and out of respect for the family, we won’t be making any additional comments at this time.

District Attorney Keith Blackwood also released a statement:

The citizens of Mobile County who participate in the Grand Jury process have an enormous responsibility. They are sworn in by a Judge and take an oath to seek the truth. The decision a Grand Jury makes on whether or not to indict is extremely difficult. While we sympathize with the Dallas family for their extreme loss, 18 people reviewed the facts presented and found there was no criminal liability.