Dallas city leaders confident of 'thorough' investigation into Joshua Brown's murder
DALLAS - Following the death of Joshua Brown, who testified in the Amber Guyger murder trial, his murder has caught national attention.
Presidential candidates are among those calling for a transparent investigation into his death, but Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson and Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins are confident of a thorough investigation in this case.
Initially, police were not releasing the identity of the victim killed in Friday night’s shooting in the parking lot of Atera Apartments, but confirmed on Sunday that 28-year-old Joshua Xavier Brown was killed after being shot multiple times in the lower body.
Several Democratic presidential candidates, including Texans Julian Castro and Beto O’Rourke, called for a transparent investigation into Brown’s death.
Lee Merritt - who is an attorney for the Jean family, but wasn’t involved in the murder trial – said Brown’s family has asked him to look into this case.
“It’s important for the city of Dallas, the Dallas Police Department, and the mayor’s office to get to the bottom of it to put away any speculation,” Merritt said.
Merritt admits it's not the first time Brown had been shot.
Mayor Johnson took to Twitter to say he trusts that the Dallas Police Department will “conduct a thorough investigation” into Brown’s death.
He also said that people should not speculate until more details are known in this case.
Dallas Police Chief Renee Hall released a statement, saying in part: “We are committed to solving this case and will work diligently to apprehend the individuals responsible for Brown’s death.“
Judge Clay Jenkins tweeted that authorities in the city of Dallas and Dallas County “will work to ensure a transparent and thorough investigation of the murder of Joshua Brown,” adding that “many career professionals are hard at work on this case."
Merritt is calling for an outside agency to investigate.
“You can’t expect the people of Dallas to now trust the Dallas Police Department to investigate themselves either for that case, or the subsequent murder, because it’s so close in time,” he said. “You just have to assumed DPD itself or the law enforcement community are going to be questioned.”
Brown’s family has not spoken publicly, but according to Merritt, Joshua Brown expressed concern about his safety.
“He did have some enemies. Less than a year ago, he was shot at the Dallas Caberet and someone close to him in proximity was killed in that accident. He had a concern that the person who shot him would come back and finish the job. We don’t know if that is related here,” Merritt added.
At this time, poice do not have information on the shooter, only that witnesses saw someone flee the scene in a silver four-door sedan.
Anyone with information on Brown's death is asked to call Detective Jacob White at 214-671-3690 or email: jacob.white@dallascityhall.com. Crime Stoppers is offering a $5,000 reward for information in this case.