Katy Trail adding extra police after reports of women being harassed
DALLAS - The Dallas Police Department is adding officers to the Katy Trail after reports of females being harassed.
A notice posted on the Katy Trail social media pages asked people running and walking along the trail to be extra aware of their surroundings and to go out with a buddy if possible.
They ask anyone who doesn't feel safe to call 911 and use the mile marker signs along the trail to let police know where you are on the trail.
Walking, running and biking on the Katy Trail is routine for Britton, who did not want her last name used. But last Friday was different because of who was on the trail with her.
"I had kind of noticed that there was a man following me pretty closely," she recalled.
Britton didn’t think too much about it until she turned around to head home.
"He came up behind me and reached up under my skirt, and he grabbed me," she recalled. "I turned around to try and fight him off. I pushed him and ran at him a couple of times and screamed at him."
Britton told FOX 4 she filed a police report. Then, she saw a post on the social media app, Nextdoor.
The post had two photos of a man, and the caption said he was suspected of harassment on the Katy Trail.
FOX 4 is not showing the photos because police have not released a suspect description or confirmed the photos show the suspect.
Jordan B., the woman who took the photos, didn’t want her face shown or last name used for safety reasons.
"I noticed a guy and a girl just looking backwards toward the guy. I was like something is definitely going on. When the guy, girl and I crossed paths, she said ‘Don’t go that way. That guy tried to assault me over the weekend.’"
Jordan says another woman came over.
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"As we were talking and said, ‘He assaulted me two days ago.’ She said, ‘Try to get a picture of him.’ And that’s when I got the pictures of him because I wanted to warn people," she recalled.
Britton said a detective with DPD asked her to come to the station to positively ID the suspect. The detective showed her seven photos, but she said she couldn’t be sure.
"And he said that was pretty common for the victims that he’s been bringing in because this man approaches from behind so we’re unable to get a close look at his face," she said.
Britton says the incident happened in a matter of seconds, but it hasn’t left her mind.
"I haven’t been able to walk the trail alone. And I am sad about that because the trail is my safe place," she said.
Britton encourages other victims to come forward.
Dallas police tell FOX 4 they are aware of recent reports of women being harassed and are investigating, as well as monitoring trail systems.