What some people witnessed as an officer putting a man into a chokehold during the Pride parade on Sept. 15 was reported by another witness as an officer rescuing another officer from an attack.
During the Pride parade, a number of people reported seeing an officer on the corner of Cedar Springs Road and Oak Lawn Avenue dragging a man across the street in a chokehold. Witnesses said they didn’t see what precipitated the incident but what they saw looked like excessive force.
Richard Reeves called Dallas Voice and said he was surprised by the restraint used by the officer when the man in the chokehold was not arrested.
A second officer was on the corner near the Melrose Hotel. A drunk man came up to her and grabbed her with both arms, Reeves said. The man was trying to kiss her while forcing her to the ground.
When the second officer saw the attack, he ran from the middle of the street where he was directing traffic and pulled the man off the second officer, Reeves said. He dragged the man to the diagonal corner by The Centrum where he released him to friends.
According to Detective Sgt. Jeremy Liebbe, an official investigation would only have begun if the man in the chokehold filed a complaint. Liebbe asked witnesses to call him, however, to make sure nothing improper took place.
Reeve said the female officer got back to work directing traffic quickly after the attack.
“She did her best to maintain her professionalism,” he said. “I was impressed with both of them.”
His only recommendation was a couple of extra officers at that busy intersection during next year’s parade.
