Colorado driver who allegedly hit protester with car charged with assault

The Colorado driver who allegedly hit a protester with a car during George Floyd protests in Denver in May was charged with assault, officials announced Monday.

Jennifer Watson, 37, was charged with one count of third-degree assault “for knowingly or recklessly causing bodily injury to a protester” and one count of reckless driving, according to a release from the Denver District Attorney.

Cellphone video of the May 28 incident showed a driver appearing to turn their vehicle around and strike a protester after the demonstrator had been on the hood of the car. The footage spread throughout Twitter as protests over Floyd’s death in Minneapolis police custody and police brutality in general erupted in multiple cities across the country. 

This is stomach-turning. https://t.co/qc0x0A2q9J

— Kyle Clark (@KyleClark) May 29, 2020

The protester, identified by NBC outlet 9News as Max Bailey, 22, said he was on top of the hood to avoid being run over and that he talked to police about the incident. 

At the time, Colorado Gov. Jared Polis (D) said in a statement obtained by the news outlet that he was “absolutely shocked” by the video.

A Change.org petition calling for Watson’s arrest had gathered more than 38,700 signatures as of Monday evening. 

Denver Police Chief Paul Pazen reported “significant progress” in the investigation on June 9 before police submitted the investigation to the District Attorney’s office on July 7, Denverite reported.