DALLAS — A grand jury has declined to indict anyone in the death of a woman who died after police and paramedics restrained her last year, according to officials.
DeeDee Hall, 47, died en route to a hospital on May 26 after an incident outside of a business in East Dallas.
The Dallas County District Attorney's Office on Friday morning confirmed that a grand jury declined to return an indictment in the case. Prosecutors provided no further details.
Dallas police officials have not responded to a request for comment.
The Dallas County Medical Examiner's office ruled Hall's death an accident.
The office last July told The Dallas Morning News that Hall died from the combined toxic effects of cocaine, meth and PCP.
No arrests were made in Hall's death, but the case was sent before a Dallas County grand jury, which had to decide whether to move forward with charges against anyone.
Justin Moore, a civil rights attorney representing Hall's family, accused the Dallas District Attorney's Office of a "shocking display of apathy" in the case, saying it "once again failed to deliver justice in the face of blatant negligence resulting in the tragic death of a transgender black woman."
"Today, we express our utmost outrage and disappointment at the grand jury's decision to label her untimely demise as a mere accident, despite overwhelming evidence suggesting otherwise," Moore said in a statement.
Moore said Hall was having a "mental health episode" when she encountered police on May 26, 2022. At one point, crews took her into an ambulance and placed a spit hood over her head, her family said.
"Instead of receiving the care, respect, and understanding she deserved, she was subjected to the callous and discriminatory treatment by the very individuals who should have safeguarded her rights and well-being," Moore said.
A 911 caller had reported that a woman, identified by police as Hall, was causing a disturbance inside the business. The caller reported that the woman appeared to be under the influence of drugs or alcohol.
Two officers responded and found Hall outside of the business in an apparent "altered mental state," police said. She was initially not responding to officers when they asked her questions, the video showed. She then collapsed while talking with Dallas Fire-Rescue paramedics.
Hall then stood up, yelled at police and paramedics and began taking her clothes off, police said. At that point, police tried to restrain her and took her to the ground, where she continued to "thrash about and scream," Deputy Chief Terrence Rhodes said.
Crews then put her on a stretcher and into an ambulance. On the way to Baylor hospital, Hall "became quiet and started to lose vital signs," Rhodes said.
Crews performed CPR, but Hall died shortly after the ambulance arrived at Baylor.
Hall's family has criticized how police and paramedics handled the incident, calling their actions callous and saying they did not give her the proper attention she needed.
On body camera footage, crews could be heard laughing and commenting on how hot the weather was that day.
“You basically see DeeDee telling those folks in the back of the ambulance that she’s dying,” Moore told WFAA last year.
Moore and the family wanted an investigation into Hall's death, as well as a look into the use of spit hoods.
“It showed the actions were inhumane. It almost treated DeeDee like a thing, instead of a person,” said Robbi Reed, a cousin of Hall.
