Visalia Jeep incident continues into a second week of investigations, DA says

The investigation into an incident in which a Jeep struck two women during a Visalia Black Lives Matter protest has stretched into its second week.

No arrests have been made and no charges have been filed.

Last week, Tulare County District Attorney Tim Ward said he had received an initial report on the case, but could not yet discuss the facts or any decisions until follow-up investigations were done. Some of those additional reports were received on Friday, according to a spokesperson for the District Attorney’s Office.

More are expected to be submitted this week, according to the spokesperson, and there should be an update on the case next week.

Visalia police Sgt. Celeste Sanchez on Monday said those follow-up investigations were complete and the case has been sent back to the DA’s office. Later Monday, she said there was still one report to be completed and could not say when that would happen.

Many people have called for action following the incident, which was caught on video, widely shared across social media and garnered responses from Fresno State and Visalia’s mayor and city manager.

Dozen of people showed up to the Tulare County Courthouse in Visalia last week to demand prosecutors file charges and conduct a third-party investigation. A Change.org petition has more than 700,000 signatures.

Sanchez said the police department increased its visibility at protest events in the city over the weekend. There were no reported incidents or violence, police said, despite threats that were made on social media.

This story was originally published June 8, 2020 at 12:11 PM.