Officers involved in Jawan Dallas’ death are not a ‘threat,’ Mobile officials say

Nearly four months after Jawan “Jay” Dallas died in police custody in Mobile, his mother still has not seen the body camera footage of what happened, nor does she know the name of the officer who tased her son.

All of the officers who interacted with 36-year-old Dallas on the night of July 2 are back to work, Mobile police Chief Paul Prine announced at the city council meeting today.

“In the case with Mr. Dallas, those officers are not a threat to the community based on the facts and irrespective to emotion,” Prine said. “They are back in the field, and they are working, and they are being productive.”

Mobile Chief of Staff James Barber said that the autopsy shows police may not have been responsible for Dallas’ death. The autopsy report has not been made public.

“Even though I can’t get into detail with it because of the emotion here, I’m gonna say that the cause of death was not attributed directly to the actions of the police officer,” Barber said at the council meeting, capping off nearly two hours of discussion about the case.

The city continues to deny requests from the Dallas family and the press to release the bodycam, saying the case is in the hands of the Mobile County District Attorney. The city also denied a public records request from AL.com seeking the personnel files, disciplinary histories and current employment status of the officers who interacted with Dallas on the night of his death.

“The documents that you have requested are not public records,” the city said in denying AL.com’s request. “They are considered investigatory and exempt from the Alabama Open Records Act as well as civil and administrative requests.”

Police said they encountered Dallas and another man while investigating a burglary call at a mobile home park on the night of July 2. Police said Dallas tried to run and an officer Tased him. Dallas began experiencing a “medical emergency” and later died at a hospital, according to the police account.

But Dallas’ family continues to call for more transparency and accountability. Christine Dallas has attended nearly every council meeting since her son died on July 2, pleading with city officials to release body camera footage of what happened.

“We’re not gonna let this die. I’m not gonna let my son have been killed in vain. We’re gonna get justice for him,” she told the council on Sept. 26. “If we have to come here every week for the next 10 years, 15 years, I don’t care how long it takes. I’m not going to stop because someone is going to pay for what y’all done to my son.”

Harry M. Daniels, lawyer for the Dallas family, said that police tend to release video footage when it shows their officers in a favorable light, when the footage shows their actions are “justified and clear cut.”

“It’s not just our perspective as the lawyers here,” Daniels told AL.com. “Y’all see it, the public sees it, the media sees it. They are keeping everyone in the dark on it. But that’s gonna change soon enough. We’re prepared to file a federal lawsuit.”

J. Evans Bailey, an attorney for the Alabama Press Association, said that personnel records, including disciplinary actions taken against police officers and other public employees, are generally considered public records. He cited a 1995 Alabama Attorney General opinion that says the records are subject to public disclosure.

“Personnel records have long been recognized to be public records under the Alabama open records act, and that includes disciplinary records in some instances,” said Bailey, who specializes in media and public records law.

While some sensitive materials in personnel files, such as medical and family information, are protected from disclosure, Bailey said that’s no reason to withhold the entire file.

He also noted that police investigative materials are not subject to disclosure, but said personnel files should not be considered “investigatory” under Alabama’s Open Records Act.

“But I don’t think having a valid reason to keep some information away from the public or to say that it’s exempt from disclosure is a valid reason to keep it all away,” Bailey told AL.com. “It’s also the law, at least regular practice, to redact and release public materials when they are mixed in with non-public materials.”

C.J. Small, president of the city council, said today that the council plans to write a letter urging Mobile County District Attorney Keith Blackwood’s office to expedite the process of setting a date for a grand jury to review the case. A spokesperson for the DA’s office said last month that they would release the footage to Christine Dallas at an “appropriate time,” after a grand jury reviewed the case.

At the council meeting today, Small told the Dallas family that it isn’t within the council’s power to do much for their case.

“Understand that this is a sounding board, and I’m not stopping you all coming down here,” Small said. “But also use all your resources, go to the DA’s office, because again, that’s what’s holding up things, and also to the state legislators.”