DALLAS — Editor's note: The video above is from January 2022.
Warrants have been issued for a police officer and his former colleague who both are accused of assault for actions during the George Floyd protests in downtown Dallas in the summer of 2020.
According to the Dallas Police Department, Senior Cpl. Ryan Mabry and former Senior Cpl. Melvin Williams are both wanted for multiple charges each of felony aggravated assault with a deadly weapon by a public servant and a misdemeanor charge of official oppression.
Mabry and Williams are expected to turn themselves in to the Dallas County Sheriff’s Department, police said.
Williams had previously been terminated from the department on Jan. 25 for violating the department’s use of force policy when officials said he repeatedly punched a man in the head while trying to intervene in a large fight in the middle of Elm Street. Video captured the incident.
Meanwhile, Mabry has been with the department since January 2010 and is currently assigned to the Tactical Operations Division. Officials said he is on administrative leave pending the outcome of an internal affairs investigation.
Investigation into summer 2020 protests
The warrants come as the D.A.'s office continues to look claims of excessive force and "potential crimes" by Dallas police officers during the height of summer protests in Downtown in the wake of George Floyd's murder.
A "critical self-analysis" produced by the Dallas Police Department in August 2020 detailed the "errors, miscalculations and shortcomings" of the police response to protests in late May and early June.
It was during the stretch of May 29 - June 1, two people were severely injured when police used "less lethal" ammunition as a crowd control measure.
Brandon Saenz was hit in his left eye and had to have it surgically removed. Vincent Doyle suffered two large cuts under his left eye, a broken cheekbone, and limited vision in that eye when he was hit by a "sponge round."
The department ultimately ordered officers to stop using those less-lethal weapons on protesters.
In October 2020, in the months following the protests, the D.A.'s office said it was looking to gather more information related to the incidents, including speaking to people who were immediately in the area when the injuries happened.
The D.A.'s office renewed that call again early this year, when it again asked for people who might have witnessed the firing of those less-lethal rounds to come forward with any information.
Anyone who has additional information, video evidence or identifiers, is asked to contact the D.A.’s Office at: protestreport@dallascounty.org or call 214-653-3714.