L’daijohnique Lee said she’s been so fearful since she was beaten last week in Deep Ellum, she has had to sleep in hotels.
“I’m scared. I don’t know who is following me, who is behind me, who is watching me,” Lee said. “My body still hurts. Everything still hurts.”
Lee spoke out Monday as outrage continued to swell over the brutal attack captured on a viral video. She said she’s still recovering. Her black eye has faded in the days since the attack, but after three trips to the emergency room, she said a doctor recommended she see a facial surgeon and neurological specialist to continue treatment for a concussion and swollen jaw.
On Monday, civil rights activists, domestic violence survivors, clergy and protesters rushed to her side, calling on officials to upgrade the charges against her alleged attacker, Austin Shuffield.
Lee and the protesters say they’re upset that Shuffield, a former bartender at High & Tight, is now out of jail after posting a $2,000 bond.
“[Shuffield] is still essentially at large,” said Lee Merritt, an attorney for Lee. “Until he is re-arrested, Ms. Lee is not safe.”
Efforts to reach Shuffield on Monday were unsuccessful.
Protesters who showed up Monday at Dallas City Hall said they felt Shuffield received lesser charges because he’s white.
“You let this man back out on the streets,” activist Olinka Green told city officials. “What does this say to black women like me?”
The protest occurred at the end of the Public Safety & Criminal Justice committee meeting after chairman Adam McGough asked officials to stay to listen to the concerns from black clergy and activists.
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SOURCE: Cassandra Jaramillo and Sara Coello, DallasNews.com
Dallas Morning News
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