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Charges won’t be filed against a Walnut Creek resident arrested during a June 1 demonstration in which he was attacked by a police dog, the Contra Costa District Attorney’s Office has confirmed.
Police detained Joseph Malott, 22, after he joined hundreds of protesters who marched onto Interstate 680 in Walnut Creek, one of many demonstrations across the country following the death of George Floyd, who was killed when a Minneapolis police officer knelt on his neck for almost nine minutes while he said he couldn’t breathe.
During the Walnut Creek protest, police fired tear gas and rubber bullets to clear protesters off the freeway onto Lawrence Way. Police alleged that while on Lawrence Way, Malott threw a tear gas canister back toward the officers, who had tossed it into the crowd.
During the confrontation, they arrested Malott, took him to a hospital for treatment of injuries and booked him into the Martinez Detention Facility.
In referring the case to the District Attorney’s Office, police said Malott had assaulted an officer by tossing back the tear gas canister, resisted an officer, refused to disperse and violated a Walnut Creek curfew put into place to temporarily get people off city streets after 6 p.m.
But Contra Costa County District Attorney Diana Becton confirmed Monday those four charges won’t be filed because there was “not sufficient evidence” to prosecute the case.
“For these cases involving protesting, I’m really taking a high level approach to these cases,” Becton said. “We’ve kind of moved them to a team approach to analyze them … we try to do a comprehensive analysis of all the evidence that comes to us, including bodycam videos, interviews, police reports and then, of course, we look at the relevant criminal statutes.”
Walnut Creek police Lt. Tracie Reese said the department is “evaluating whether to resubmit the case with additional statements and evidence.”
She said Malott had “lobbed” the tear gas canister “up in the air,” and the officer who arrested him acted appropriately, in the department’s view.
Malott’s attorney, Peter Johnson, earlier this month called the attack an “egregious” example of police misconduct.
On Monday, Johnson said while he is “very happy” that Malott “does not have to endure the criminal ‘justice’ process further,” the ordeal should never have happened.
“No charges ever should have been considered,” he said. “Mr. Malott should not have had to be incarcerated, and his family should not have had to post bail.”
Many residents and others have sharply criticized the Walnut Creek Police Department and its partner agencies for how the June 1 demonstration was handled. In addition to Malott’s injuries — which included a dog bite wound that required multiple stitches — at least one other demonstrator was hospitalized after being struck in the head by a rubber bullet. Another young demonstrator was hit with a rubber bullet in his side, and multiple people were tear gassed, including a 14 year-old.
Dozens of callers to a City Council meeting last week condemned the police response as overly aggressive and forceful.
During that meeting, Walnut Creek Police officials told the council they would no longer bring police dogs to protests.
“I think that’s a good, positive move,” Becton said.
