black woman was beaten by a white man

On the night when a gun was pulled, punches were thrown and car windows smashed, transforming Dallas into the latest flash point of criminal justice and race relations, everything began with a traffic dispute.

L’Daijohnique Lee was going the wrong way down a one-way street in the Deep Ellum neighborhood on March 21. She was dropping off a friend, she said. Austin Shuffield, 30, was trying to leave a parking lot. He tried to take a picture of her license plate. Lee, 24, threatened to mace him if he didn’t back away, WFAA reported, citing a police affidavit.

A bystander video captured what happened next. Shuffield, who is white, clutches a pistol at his side and steps toward Lee, who is black. She pulls out her phone to dial 911. Shuffield swats the phone to the ground and Lee connects a punch. Then Shuffield winds up for at least five hard blows to Lee’s head, sending her reeling. Then he kicks her phone down the street.

The video roared across social media and prompted calls for serious charges against Shuffield. But a felony charge landed first for Lee — the assault victim.

On the night when a gun was pulled, punches were thrown and car windows smashed, transforming Dallas into the latest flash point of criminal justice and race relations, everything began with a traffic dispute.

L’Daijohnique Lee was going the wrong way down a one-way street in the Deep Ellum neighborhood on March 21. She was dropping off a friend, she said. Austin Shuffield, 30, was trying to leave a parking lot. He tried to take a picture of her license plate. Lee, 24, threatened to mace him if he didn’t back away, WFAA reported, citing a police affidavit.

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A bystander video captured what happened next. Shuffield, who is white, clutches a pistol at his side and steps toward Lee, who is black. She pulls out her phone to dial 911. Shuffield swats the phone to the ground and Lee connects a punch. Then Shuffield winds up for at least five hard blows to Lee’s head, sending her reeling. Then he kicks her phone down the street.

The video roared across social media and prompted calls for serious charges against Shuffield. But a felony charge landed first for Lee — the assault victim.

Lee was charged Tuesday with felony criminal mischief after allegedly smashing the windows of Shuffield’s truck after the incident. That decision triggered more protests in Dallas, including one planned at city hall Wednesday.

On Wednesday, the Dallas County district attorney’s office said Lee’s warrant was recalled. “The case has been declined for prosecution,” said Kimberlee Leach, a spokeswoman for the office. It was not immediately clear why.

The initial felony charge for Lee raised questions about whether it was appropriate for an assault victim.

“She’s obviously in distress. You can’t consider these things outside of context,” said her attorney S. Lee Merritt, who criticized authorities for filing a felony charge against Lee before they focused on Shuffield.