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'Very light' charges for former La Mesa Police Officer Matt Dages

San Diego activists and attorneys are responding to the charges against a former La Mesa Police officer involved in a controversial arrest last year.

LA MESA, Calif. — On a Zoom meeting led by San Diego activist Tasha Williamson, Terry Owens Jr., the attorney for Aumarie Johnson, says former La Mesa Police Officer Matt Dages' charges for a falsified police report are very concerning and slim considering the physical evidence.

“Very light charges. Officer Dages repeatedly pushed down Amaurie Johnson, grabbed him pulled him, all of that. Amaurie Johnson was manhandled, and there's not one battery charge at all,” Owens said.

Dages appeared before an El Cajon Judge Tuesday regarding the controversial arrest he made on May 27, 2020. He pled not guilty to the charges.

"We are all pushing police accountability, it must be at the forefront of justice in San Diego County,” Williamson said.

Video of the arrest showed Dages confronting 23-year-old Amaurie Johnson at the Grossmont Trolley Station as Johnson says he was simply waiting for a friend.

Dages was fired for allegedly violating several police department rules and regulations. Following an investigation, Dages has since requested his job and backpay back.

Johnson was released and never charged with a crime. He has since sued Dages, as well as the City of La Mesa.

During the hearing, attorney Owens Jr. asked for a criminal protective order against Dages -- saying his client Johnson still feels targeted.

"Since the incident, Mr. Johnson has been contacted more by law enforcement since May of 2020 to present than throughout his entire life. He speculates that maybe, it’s the indirect result of officer Dages' relationships in law enforcement,” Owens Jr. said.

San Diego attorney Genevieve Jones-Wright says there is a double standard in the district attorney’s office .

“They have a different way of prosecuting criminal conduct when the person is not Black or when the person is not poor, or when the person is not law enforcement,” Jones-Wright said.

"The DA has consistently filed charges in accordance with the law holding police officers accountable whenever facts and evidence support it just as we are doing on the Dages case," said Steve Walker, Communications Director for the San Diego County District Attorney.

The judge issued a no contact order. If convicted, Dages could face three years in prison. His next court appearance is scheduled for April.

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