The mother of a 36-year-old Black man killed last month during an altercation with Mobile police continued the public call for authorities to release police-worn body camera footage of the incident.

“We need to know what happened that night,” said Christine Dallas, mother of Jawan Dallas, who died on July 2 after he was tased by a Mobile police officer while they were responding to a burglary call in Theodore.

“My son was killed by the Mobile Police Department,” Dallas said. “We need to know what happened to my son. He was the centerpiece of our family. We need some answers.”

Council reacts

Her comments sparked the first public reactions over the death by members of the Mobile City Council.

The council’s three Black members implored City Attorney Ricardo Woods to find a way to release the footage to the Dallas family, even if the matter remains under investigation by the Mobile County District Attorney’s Office.

For the past two weeks, Woods has responded to requests to release the camera footage with the same message: It will not be released while there is an ongoing criminal investigation. Family members have publicly requested the video footage since shortly after Dallas’s death.

“Once the criminal investigation is over, we will sit down and go over it with the family and allow them to view the video,” Woods said.

There is no timetable for a Mobile County grand jury to weigh in on the case, and it could be months before the criminal investigation is finalized.

Some of the council members said that’s simply too long to wait.

“If it was my child, I’d be sitting at your door every day,” Councilman William Carroll said to Woods referring to the persistent requests for the body camera footage.

Council President C.J. Small added, “I feel the pain of this mother. If it was my child, I’d like to know.”

New law

Council members and the Dallas family are inquiring whether a new state law that takes effect on Friday will provide an avenue for the footage to be released and viewed by family members.

The new law, approved by state lawmakers this spring, allows people whose image or voice is the subject of a body camera or dash camera recording to file a written request to review it. An attorney, parent, spouse, or another designated representative can also make the request.

But there is no guarantee the agency that receives the request will allow for its limited release. The requests can be denied, and law enforcement does not have to provide a reason for its denial. And agencies can deny requests based on an ongoing investigation.

“The same caveat for a criminal investigation is still in there,” said Woods, saying the new law is “no different than the body cam policy the city has in place now.”

“It does not change our path going forward after September 1,” said Woods.

Carroll said he was hopeful the administration will find a way to help the family find closure “no matter what happens going forward in the legal process.”

“Body cameras are a way to protect everyone,” said Councilman Cory Penn. “If we can show the body camera (footage) after September 1, and if there is a guideline (that allows for it) I request that the family see it.”

Family and friends of the Dallas family assembled at Government Plaza and carried homemade signs to continue calling for the release of the body cam footage.

“I don’t think we should have to wait for months,” said Christine Dallas. “If the Mobile Police Department feels like they did nothing wrong, why make us wait? We are trying to get some kind of closure for what happened to my son. His siblings also want to know. We should not have to wait for months.”

Unclear details

The situation involving Jawan Dallas’s death remains murky, and few details have surfaced as to why he was shot with a Taser while sitting inside his vehicle and away from trailer where police were initially responding to a 911 call about a burglary.

That call prompted a rapid response. Dallas was and another man were encountered roughly a football field’s length away from the trailer. The attorneys for the family have since argued that the caller informed police dispatch that someone was “only in his yard” and that a burglary was not happening.

The 911 caller also claimed the person who trespassed onto the property was homeless. Dallas, when approached by police, was “sitting in a fully functional vehicle” and did not appear to be “indigent or homeless,” according to a claim the family filed with the city.

Mobile police then demanded Dallas produce a state-issued ID, which he did not.

Christine Dallas said her son did not have an ID, and that he died because of it.

“I cannot understand why he would be dead over an ID,” she said. “I cannot understand why he is dead while sitting in his car minding his own business. There were other people running from the scene, but they chose to go after my son.”

Dallas was struck with a Taser multiple times, according to the claim the family filed in July. An attorney for the family says that Dallas fell to the ground after the first tasing, grabbed his chest and complained of a chest pain. The officer then tased him again, the attorney says, “until he stopped moving.”

Mobile Police Chief Paul Prine, who was not at Tuesday’s council meeting, has previously said that Dallas evaded police after they showed up to investigate the burglary call. The chief said the responding officers feared for their own safety because Dallas’s behavior and “strange movement in the car,” such as “moving to the backseat with his hands.”

Dallas, a convicted felon, was later found to have drugs – crystal methamphetamine and analog marijuana known a spice.

Woods said that investigators are still waiting on toxicology reports.

Sylvester Cheatham of Mobile, who used to employ Jawan Dallas as a painter and called him a “compassionate” and “caring” man, said that his mother needs to review the footage “no matter which way it goes.”

“The only thing we’re asking is to put yourselves in Christine’s shoes as a parent,” said Cheatham. “You need answers. She just wants to know to give herself peace and the answer that is in their hearts.”

Christine Dallas said that right now, she believes the police officers – none of whom have been named – should be held accountable for her son’s death.

“They need to pay for what they’ve done,” she said. “If they messed up, they messed up. But my son should not be dead. And they won’t even let us see the video.”