Arizona Father Charged With Attempted Murder After Livestreaming Attack on Child Safety Worker During Custody Dispute [Video]

A shocking incident has recently gone viral of an Arizona father attacking a Department of Child Safety (DCS) worker while on live stream.

Video

According to Mesa Police, the incident unfolded on Monday evening inside of Mesa Towers. They stated the situation kicked off with an hour-long meeting between 32-year-old De’Andre Terrell Johnson and the DCS worker. During the conversation, the two discussed serious allegations in Johnson’s custody case. Johnson reportedly livestreamed the intense interaction, where he repeatedly asked the employee to identify himself on camera.

But, here’s where things turned violent. At the end of the discussion, Johnson asked the worker for a handshake. When the worker agreed and leaned in, Johnson pulled him into a chokehold instead, allegedly saying, “You’re a dead man.” The surprising moment went on for some time with Johnson continuing to keep the worker restrained.

The police reports said the worker was eventually released but collapsed on the floor with severe injuries and an “altered state of consciousness.” As for Johnson, he urged bystanders to “call the cops” and confirmed that he’d “be waiting.” Despite making the attack, Johnson did check to make sure the worker was still breathing but said, “I didn’t make my f**king point.” However, authorities caught up with Johnson hours later after he led them on a brief chase in Scottsdale. He was arrested after multiple attempts to disable his vehicle.

Now, this isn’t the first time Johnson and the worker have interacted with each other. Court documents state Johnson previously met up with the worker to discuss his daughter, which resulted in Johnson reportedly telling him, “I came here to kill you; you’re lucky my daughter vouched for you.” Following the recent event, the worker described Johnson’s behavior as “aggressive” and believed the father wanted to kill him.

Nonetheless, Johnson was charged with attempted murder, two counts of aggravated assault, and one count of unlawful flight and is currently held in custody with a bond of $500,000. In a statement, the Arizona Department of Child Safety criticized Johnson’s attack, calling it “horrific” and “unprovoked.”

“Yesterday one of our specialists was assaulted in an unprovoked attack and horrific manner by a parent at our Tempe/Gilbert field office,” the DCS spokesperson. “Although no weapon was used, the attack was severe enough that our specialist had to be taken by ambulance for medical treatment. … We are relieved that the specialist has been discharged from the hospital and is now at home recovering with family.”