Pentagon officer arrested on murder charges faces new allegation of assaulting woman
A Defense Department police officer who was arrested on murder charges last week was accused Saturday of assault in a separate case.
The officer, David Dixon, faces charges of first- and second-degree assault and using a firearm while committing a felony or violent crime, police in Takoma Park, Maryland, said in a statement.
The allegations stem from an incident at a condominium complex in Takoma Park, a suburb of Washington, D.C., on May 6, when Dixon is alleged to have assaulted a woman with a long gun, the police department said. It did not identify the woman.
Dixon told police that he pepper-sprayed the woman after she assaulted him, the police department said. Neither Dixon nor the woman mentioned the gun to responding officers, and the police department said there was no evidence at the time that suggested that he displayed the weapon.
No charges were filed at the time, but on Friday investigators obtained a video that they alleged shows Dixon assaulting the woman, the police department said.
A spokeswoman said the Pentagon Force Protection Agency, where Dixon has worked since 2019, would reopen an administrative investigation into the incident, which she said occurred in the lobby of Dixon's condominium building.
The agency will also investigate a second off-duty incident that happened in Washington on July 29. The spokeswoman, Jacqueline Yost, did not provide details. She said Dixon was cleared of wrongdoing in a criminal investigation conducted by Washington police and in an internal inquiry.
It wasn't clear whether Dixon has an attorney. Court records don't list one.
In the case from last week, Dixon faces second-degree murder charges after he fatally shot Dominique Williams, 32, and James Johnson, 38, on Thursday. Dixon is also accused of attempted murder and other crimes after he was alleged to have fired into a car at Michael Thomas, 36, during the same incident, authorities said.
Dixon, who was off-duty at the time, told police that he believed they were breaking into a car, the police department said.
Takoma Park Police Chief Antonio DeVaul told reporters Friday that a car break-in was, indeed, occurring before the shooting. But he said, "Our investigation revealed that Mr. Dixon's overview of events was inconsistent with the evidence and facts in the case."
Before he joined the Pentagon police force, Dixon was a federal and military police officer and a combat crewman with the Air Force. A Pentagon police spokeswoman previously said he was current in his use-of-force and firearms qualifications.
CORRECTION (April 12, 2021, 5:40 p.m. ET): A photo caption in a previous version of this article misspelled the city where an assault is alleged to have occurred last year. It is Takoma Park, Maryland, not Tacoma Park.
