After daylong protest from mom, community, Fort Worth police arrest hit-and-run suspect
Fort Worth police arrested a minor suspected of hitting a child in a hit-and-run after a crowd of people, including the mother of the injured boy, protested outside the suspect’s house Monday.
Amiee Johnson asked the community to stand with her in protest after she said police did not act quickly in arresting the person she believes hit her 8-year-old son, JoJo Dunn. JoJo had been riding his bicycle outside in the 3200 block of Strong Avenue when a pickup truck hit him and kept driving, according to Fort Worth police.
Fort Worth police announced at about 9:30 p.m. that they arrested the juvenile suspect in the case. In the tweet, the department also thanked “all that assisted on this case and especially the family of the victim!”
Fort Worth Police Chief Neil Noakes retweeted the statement on the arrest.
“Please join us in continuing to pray for the young victim in this case and his loving family,” he said in a tweet.
Earlier in the day Monday, police sent out a press release and asked the public for help finding any witnesses or more information about the suspected driver.
Johnson said she was inside changing her other child’s diaper on Saturday at about 7:40 p.m. when her 11-year-old ran in and told her JoJo had been hit. She found her son outside and when she picked him up, he was limp in her arms.
Police and an ambulance arrived quickly, she said. JoJo went to the hospital, and his injuries include a broken leg, a skull fracture and swelling in his brain. A Fort Worth detective took down all the information about the hit-and-run, but Johnson was taken aback when he handed her his card and said someone would be in touch.
“He turns around and starts walking away,” she said. “I said, ‘What are the next steps? What are you going to do?’”
The detective told her they would canvass the neighborhood and gather all the information they could.
Family seeks justice
Johnson, angry and impatient for justice for her son, began to investigate on her own. Her neighbor had a Ring video of her son being hit by the truck, and Johnson found a nearby store that had surveillance footage. Her sister posted the videos on Facebook, and within minutes, people on social media told Johnson the address the truck was registered at. By 10:30 p.m. — less than three hours after her son was hit — she was certain she knew who had hurt him.
She and her husband drove by the house on Bright Street, and she was sure the truck was in the back yard. On Sunday morning, they went back and Johnson, standing on a car, looked over the fence into the back yard of the house. The pickup truck was in the yard.
She called police and told them what she found. When they did not arrive within a few minutes, she told others to call 911, too. Officers arrived at the house and had them cross the street. Johnson looked through the gate and said she saw someone taking the license plate off of the pickup truck, and she told police what was going on. She demanded police do something.
Police returned later that day and towed the truck from the back yard. Johnson felt temporary relief and expected an arrest would follow shortly. But police told Johnson they could not arrest anyone yet because they had not determined who was driving the car. Johnson’s frustration grew as she said she repeatedly asked police when someone would be arrested over the course of the day Sunday.
Johnson, who is Black, felt police were giving her the runaround and telling her contradictory information. She had done the legwork to find out who had hurt her son, and now she wanted him taken into custody. When police assured her they knew who the driver was and the case was solved, she told them to go arrest him, she said.
But police told her they still had channels they had to go through and proper procedures to follow.
“I said, ‘What’s the proper procedure when a Caucasian kid is hit by a ... car?’” she said. “I said, ‘Don’t treat me as if I am nobody. Treat me as if this is your 8-year-old son.’”
As of 3 p.m. Monday, police said in a press release the department’s traffic investigations unit had identified a person of interest and the pickup truck believed to be involved in the hit-and-run. Detectives also obtained video of the hit-and-run and were continuing to investigate, according to the press release.
Police have not responded to the Star-Telegram’s questions about Johnson’s concerns.
All-day protest ends in arrest
On Monday morning, with her son still in the hospital in critical condition and with the person she believed hit him still not in custody, Johnson decided to take action. She and others in the community posted on social media, calling for a protest outside the house on Bright Avenue. She said she was not leaving until the person was arrested.
Throughout the day Monday, hundreds of people waited on the street. Some had folding chairs or sat on top of cars, and others had signs that read, “Justice for JoJo” and “Come on Law, do your job and make justice for JoJo.” People brought water and food as the protest progressed into the evening.
At one point, a group of people marched onto Berry Street, prompting Fort Worth police to block off the street with police cars. At 8:30 p.m., at least 200 people were still outside the home. A few hours before, Fort Worth police had said they were preparing to serve an arrest warrant, protesters said. A handful of Fort Worth police officers stood on the sidewalk outside the suspected driver’s home.
One woman, Shanesta Luckett, said she saw Facebook posts about the hit-and-run and wanted to support the family.
She said this is something that could happen to anyone’s son. She emphasized that protesters were not trying to cause any violence or problems, but wanted justice for the family.
“I’m out here showing support and love,” she said.
At about 9:10 p.m., someone told Johnson that the driver had been arrested. She wanted proof. She and other protesters walked to a line of police cars waiting on East Berry, and an officer took Johnson aside.
A few minutes later, Johnson, standing beneath a street lamp on East Berry, tearfully addressed the waiting crowd. She said the passenger in the car had not been arrested, which she still wanted to see happen. But she was satisfied that the person who she believes hit her son had been taken into custody.
“I’m proud of y’all for coming together and not resorting to violence, following my lead and doing what we need to do to be here,” she said.
