La Mesa Police Officer Dages: Fights Politically Motivated Charges

La Mesa Police Officer Dages and Family Still Fighting to Save His Job over Politically Motivated Charges
By: Theodore Tank

Here’s an all-too-common law enforcement scenario: Officer uses reasonable force, the media swarms the story to sell papers, the public demands answers, and politicians buckle under pressure and go after the officer.

What a shame the last few years have become.

What happens next is an atrocity to American values and what this great country was founded on - law and order. Unfortunately, it has taken a back seat to political pressure.

Officers around the country are losing their jobs because they are facing unnecessary, sometimes outright baseless administrative and criminal charges. Too many officers are giving up their careers because they are trapped in a political tug of war, and many more are leaving the once-noble profession to avoid this twilight zone-like dynamic.

The philosophy of “is it worth the aggravation” is prevailing and could lead to a country without the rule of law. Isn’t that a scary thought? But there’s light at the end of this warped tunnel that could set the tone for things to come; fighting back!

Officer Dages’ wife, Christina, has decided to pull out all the stops and do everything in her power to fight back. She’s refusing to stand idly by while her husband, still suspended, awaits criminal charges of filing a false police report.

THE INCIDENT

Two days after the George Floyd incident, Officer Dages was filmed by a bystander as well as department cameras arresting a suspect.

As I watched the entire 18-minute video, (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oAtRejCACmQ) I became baffled. I thought to myself this is it? There wasn’t an ounce of controversy. In fact, I was bored with the video.

The civilian who captured the incident on video then released it on social media. The video’s viral path rode the coattails of the Floyd incident and was published as an outcry of yet another excessive use of force and wrongful arrest of an innocent civilian.

Without all the facts available, people resorted to looting and rioting, leaving many parts of the City of La Mesa in ruins.

As the political pressure mounted, DA Summer Stephan released the suspect and sought charges against the officer; a gross display of buckling under public pressure.

Well over a year later, Officer Dages’ freedom hangs in the balance of a politically motivated case. This case is headed to trial.

THE FACTS

✓    The suspect was proven to be trespassing.

✓    The suspect assaulted Officer Dages on camera.

✓    Officer Dages was cleared of Use of Force.

✓    Officer Dages passed a voluntary polygraph showing he does not have underlying racist ideology.

It went as far as the La Mesa Police Department’s insistence that if Officer Dages simply resigns, the charges will disappear, and he walks away. Many officers would’ve taken the deal just to move on from the nightmare, but not the Dages family.

Not only are they fighting these absurd charges, but they are also making as much noise as they can. Christina Dages, who speaks on behalf of her husband who cannot speak for himself yet, has appeared on countless podcasts, news interviews and articles throughout the country.

Her mission is twofold.

1. To help her husband clear his name and get back on duty.

2. Create the blueprint for what future officers need to do to overcome baseless, politically motivated charges.

So far, the Dages campaign has made a profound impact on social media. They even garnered the support of numerous high-profile social media entities including Eddie and Andrea Gallagher and the Pipe Hitter Foundation.

Eddie Gallagher himself was a victim of baseless charges while serving with the elite Navy Seals in a high- profile case. Once Eddie eventually cleared his name, he and Andrea recognized the need to create an organization whose mission is dedicated to supporting these brave men and women, helping them find justice, and reforming a system that too often second guesses our heroes.

The Dages family is still pursuing justice. Officer Dages’ trial is set for December of this year and the Dages are fully committed to fighting this to the end.

They are setting the stage to prove to other law enforcement officers that you don’t have to give in, and you CAN fight back.

(Editor’s Note: On 10 December 2021 Matthew Dages was acquitted of a felony count of falsifying a police report in connection with this arrest).

Follow the Dages’ IG account @clearofficerdages