A girl who struck a person together with her automobile final yr on the primary day of George Floyd protests in downtown Denver was sentenced Monday to group service.
A jury in July convicted Jennifer Watson, 38, of reckless driving however acquitted her of third-degree assault in connection to the Could 28, 2020, incident on Broadway close to the Colorado Capitol.
Denver County Court docket Decide Kerri Lombardi sentenced Watson on Monday to 48 hours of group service and $341 in fines and charges, courtroom information present.
A video recorded by a bystander that went viral confirmed Watson’s automobile surrounded by a small group of protesters, together with a person who was on the hood of her automobile. Watson began to drive by way of the gang and the person jumped off the hood and moved away from the automobile.
Watson then turned and drove towards him, placing him with the entrance of her automobile, the video confirmed. The person was not severely injured, according to previous interviews.
Watson’s lawyer, Ryan Brackley, mentioned that the protesters have been placing Watson’s automobile and smashed her windshield. She was afraid and wished to go away the scenario. Watson known as Denver police twice to report the incident and cooperated with the investigation, Brackley beforehand mentioned.
Brackley mentioned Monday that the sentence for the site visitors offense was truthful. It was necessary to Watson that she be capable to clarify to the decide her perspective of the incident and the way it impacted her life, Brackley mentioned.
Watson’s electronic mail and cellphone have been flooded with hateful messages after the video went viral, he mentioned, and folks despatched her photographs of the home the place she had been dwelling.
“From the second that video went viral, her life was by no means the identical,” Brackley mentioned.