Father Livestreamed Attempted Murder of Child Safety Officer, Escaped Officials Online: Police

An Arizona father has been charged with attempted murder after he allegedly livestreamed his attack on a Department of Child Safety (DCS) employee.

De'Andre Terrell Johnson, 32, was also charged with two counts of aggravated assault and one count of unlawful fleeing, according to Mesa police.

The attack occurred around 5 p.m. Monday when the department received 911 calls from witnesses in the lobby of the Mesa Tower near Alma School Road and Southern Avenue, which houses a DCS branch, according to Fox News Digital verified court documents show.

The altercation followed an hour-long meeting between Johnson and the DCS employee during which the two men discussed serious allegations made against Johnson in the open custody case against him. Johnson, who livestreamed the entire meeting, repeatedly asked the worker to introduce himself to viewers.

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When the two stood up at the end of their meeting, Johnson asked if the worker would “dab him up.” As the other man leaned forward, Johnson grabbed him in a chokehold.

“You’re a dead man,” Johnson repeatedly told the worker. According to investigators, the victim was held in a chokehold for approximately two minutes and thirty seconds.

At the scene, officers found the DCS employee on the ground with “obvious injuries” to his face. Witnesses said Johnson choked him twice, and video of the incident shows the drooling victim with bulging eyes and tense arm muscles as he is strangled in a chokehold.

According to court documents, the clerk was in an “altered state of consciousness” when he was taken to an area hospital.

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After their hour-long meeting, De'Andre Johnson allegedly put the clerk in a chokehold. (De'Andre Johnson on Facebook)

“Come on, call the police,” Johnson told shocked onlookers after dropping the unresponsive victim face-first onto the tile floor. “I'll wait.”

“Does anyone else think it's OK to take little girls in a room?” Johnson said, breathing heavily and looking at the camera.

“Are you still breathing?” Johnson asked the unresponsive worker. “He’s still breathing. I didn’t get my f—— point right.”

According to court documents, Johnson then put his arm around the man's neck again. In the footage, bystanders can be seen shouting at him to let go. He changed the camera angle several times to ensure the attack was captured on video and inserted the victim's face into the frame.

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Johnson held the victim's face up to the camera while the victim's eyes bulged, video shows. (De'Andre Johnson on Facebook)

“You’ve made your point,” an audience member told Johnson, to which he replied, “No, I haven’t.”

Johnson then stood up, turned off the live stream and left the building.

When police tracked Johnson down three hours later in nearby Scottsdale, he refused to stop and sped away, reports said. Mesa police attempted to use a grab net on Johnson's vehicle, but he continued driving and destroyed the device. After attempting several PIT (Precision Imbolization Technique) maneuvers to stop his car, officers were able to take the 32-year-old into custody.

The victim later told police that she had spoken to Johnson about his daughter a week before the attack.

As a video shows, Johnson dropped the victim face first on the ground. (De'Andre Johnson on Facebook)

“I came here to kill you. “You’re lucky my daughter vouched for you,” Johnson allegedly told the worker, who was able to calm him down.

The worker told police he felt Johnson was “aggressive” throughout Monday's meeting. When Johnson began choking him, the victim said, he realized “he just wanted to kill me” and told police there was “no other reason” for the father's behavior.

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The victim's doctor told police that his injuries were “absolutely serious” and that the man “nearly died,” according to court documents.

Johnson is being held on a $500,000 cash bond.

In a statement to 12News, a DCS spokesperson said the agency is “conducting a comprehensive review of this incident to prevent it from happening again.”

Johnson is pictured breathing heavily and speaking to witnesses after the attack. (De'Andre Johnson on Facebook)

“Yesterday, one of our specialists was horrifically attacked in an unprovoked attack by a parent at our Tempe/Gilbert field office,” the outlet's spokesperson said. “Although no weapon was used, the attack was so serious that our specialist had to be taken by ambulance for medical treatment. … We are relieved that the specialist has been released from the hospital and is now recovering at home with his family.”

“Our employees continually do difficult work in challenging circumstances, and they do so with the goal of strengthening families and ensuring that children in Arizona can thrive. The department is committed to ensuring the safety of our employees while carrying out this important work.”