The bad news for Texas Republican candidate for governor Allen West is that he’s still not going to get the apology he wants from Dallas Police Chief Eddie Garcia.
The good news for West is that the Dallas County District Attorney’s office is rejecting the driving while intoxicated case against his wife, Angela West, after the results of a blood test showed there were no drugs or alcohol in her system at the time of her arrest last month in Dallas.
“This unfortunate stain on [West’s] otherwise exemplary reputation should be removed with haste!” reads a statement from George R. Milner III, an enthusiastic user of exclamation points who is also Angela West’s attorney. “While I have the utmost respect for Dallas Police Chief Eddie Garcia, his officer got this one wrong! She made a mistake. A big one!!”
In an emailed statement completely free of exclamation points (boring!) the DA’s office confirmed it was rejecting the case Wednesday afternoon.
On Twitter, Allen West repeated his demand for an apology and said the Dallas Police Department should release the “full unedited body cam video” of his wife’s arrest as she was driving home from a P.F. Chang’s with her grandson. After the gubernatorial candidate very publicly attacked the actions of the arresting officer, Garcia held a press conference in which he stood up for his officer and played video from the night of Angela West’s arrest.
The Dallas Police Department sent over the statement below. No exclamation points.
The Dallas Police Department is aware of the lab results coming from the toxicology report. Due process is guaranteed to everyone, and Mrs. West is no different.
The officer made her decision based on the information available to her at that time. The purpose of addressing the media and releasing the video footage of the suspected DUI arrest of Mrs. Angela West was not to prove guilt or innocence, but to show the interaction between the officer and Mrs. West because of the accusations regarding the encounter. The remainder of the process lies in the hands of the District Attorney’s office. We respect the ultimate decision of the District Attorney’s office and we will refrain from commenting further.
