Grand jury to hear case of DPD officers who shot pregnant mom

DALLAS - A Dallas County grand jury will hear an officer-involved shooting where a 21-year old pregnant mother was shot and killed as police say she tried to run them over.

Police body cam video was used in a previous hearing. But to date, the entire video has not been made public and is expected to be a critical part of the prosecution’s case to determine if the officers should face charges or not.

Rebecca Garcia is the great-grandmother-in-law of Genevive Dawes, the young pregnant mother shot and killed by Dallas police in January.

"She was pregnant, but she didn't deserve to die like that,” Garcia said.

Police say they were responding to a call about a suspicious vehicle in the rear of an East Dallas apartment complex. Dawes was in the driver's seat sleeping with her common-law husband, Virgilio Rosales, as police approached the car that they later determined was stolen.

At a court hearing in May, DPD Officer Erin Evans, who did not fire her weapon, described what happened next.

"The car then reverses into one of our squad cars that was pulled up and hits it and then tries to drive forward hitting the fence that was in front of it,” the officer said. “It couldn't make it through there at the time, and then it started reversing again."

Two officers opened fire, and Dawes was hit multiple times. Police body camera video showed the aftermath. The entire video has not been made public, but a part of the video shows a handgun found inside the vehicle minutes after the shooting. 

"We just want justice for Genevive,” Garcia said. “She was only 21 and the mother of two."

Former prosecutor turned defense attorney Toby Shook is not involved in the case, but offered his perspective on what the grand jury will consider in deciding whether the two officers who opened fire will face any charges.

"The car moves in a way that they say they felt endangered themselves and other, and there's a gun found. All those facts go in favor of the officer,” Shook said. “However, we don't know exactly what the video shows. And I think that will be the most important that the grand jury sees."

Shook says it will be up to a grand jury to decide what, if anything, to charge the officers. It could range from a murder indictment to aggravated assault to negligent homicide or nothing at all.

If the officers are no billed, that information would typically release on the day of the grand jury on Wednesday. If they are indicted, that word would come on Friday.