Grand Prairie residents react strongly to alleged assault video of councilman Mike Del Bosque: "I think it's despicable."
Gand Prairie residents are reacting strongly to watching the video that allegedly shows councilman Mike Del Bosque assaulting a real estate agent in a parking lot.
CBS News Texas obtained the exclusive video that recorded Del Bosque allegedly punching the 60-year-old man and breaking his phone during what his accuser calls an unprovoked attack.
"I think it's despicable," said Jackie Johnson, a Grand Prairie resident who's lived in the city for 40 years.
"If he's in a fight, you know, it's just not right," said Alex Rivery, another Grand Prairie resident.
Larry Maifeld, who's lived in Grand Prairie for close to 25 years, said he was disappointed.
"Any councilman, you think they'd have more restraint than to do something like," said Maifeld.
"It's not right for anybody nationwide to be violent and in a public office," said Rivery.
There was a much stronger reaction than from Del Bosque's colleagues at City Hall.
CBS News Texas reached out to every member of the council on Thursday, but not one responded to the request for comment.
We asked the city if Del Bosque should be reprimanded or kicked off the council, and they sent us the following statement:
"The case is still under review by the Dallas County Criminal District Attorney's Office; therefore, the City is not able to comment on the specifics at this time.
The City follows its Standards of Conduct for Officers and Employees (Code of Ordinances, Chapter 2, Article IV), which addresses any dishonest or criminal behavior or any behavior that could discredit the City. The City Council may consider a formal reprimand in accordance with these Standards. However, action in relation to criminal behavior is not generally taken until the criminal case has been disposed of through the court system.Additionally, under the City's Charter (Article VI Recall and Referendum), only voters, not the City Council, may remove a council member from office through a petition process and recall election, if needed."
That would not happen until after criminal court cases have been resolved. That's something residents interviewed agreed with.
"You're innocent until you've been found guilty," said Johnson.
"I think they need to do a little background and find out what caused the fight to start with," said Maifeld.
However, they were skeptical about voting for someone like Del Bosque after seeing the video.
"No, I don't vote for him," said Rivery.
And they hope for more civility moving forward.
"I pray that they do better," said Johnson.
