Dallas County Commissioner, John Wiley Price, Under Investigation for Alleged Assault on Election Worker

The Dallas County sheriff’s office announced on Friday that it is looking into a complaint made by an election worker who accused Commissioner John Wiley Price of assaulting her and removing her from a polling place last weekend.

Cynthia Stairs, 63, claimed that Price knocked her phone from her hand and threatened to expel her on Saturday, just prior to the municipal elections, after she arrived at the Friendship-West Baptist Church to fulfill her duties.In a police report submitted on Monday, Stairs explained that the incident occurred after the presiding election judge, Dianna Jackson, saw her at the polling location, stated that she would not work with Stairs, and departed.

Stairs had previously been charged with misdemeanor assault against Jackson in November after they worked together during the general election, but she has entered a plea of not guilty.

Stairs reported that Price came to the precinct after she reached out to him while trying to find replacements because the other five poll workers had left with Jackson.

Stairs recounted that Price, whom she did not initially recognize but later identified from a photo, entered the polling place “in a rage.” She described how he “raised his hand high and struck my hand, sending the phone to the ground.”

Although he did not physically touch her again, she alleged that he used his body as “a driving force,” threatening to hit her with his hands raised and shouting, “Get out of here, get out of here!” When she tried to re-enter the building, she found herself blocked outside.

Sheriff spokesperson Doug Sisk indicated that investigators will review the report to assess whether any crime occurred.