Jamal Smith accused of beating and choking partner, who later waited hours for deputies to respond

By Daniela Hurtado

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    HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) — When you call 911, you call because you want help from first responders and expect them to show up quickly.

A woman in northwest Houston called for help Sunday night after she said she was being abused, but law enforcement didn’t show up for hours.

Thankfully, a neighbor got the woman to safety while the suspect was accused of continuing to make threats.

Nineteen-year-old Jamal Smith is being held on a combined $105,000 bond for three felony charges and is accused of beating, cutting, and choking his partner. The victim’s father told ABC13 he’s enraged someone beat his daughter to a pulp, but he’s also upset the sheriff’s office didn’t show up quickly and with urgency to help her, especially because it was a domestic violence case.

“When I saw her in the light, the first thing I noticed was she had two black eyes,” the victim’s father said, whose identity we’re not releasing to help the victim maintain anonymity.

No one, especially parents, wants to see their loved one with two black eyes, cuts, and bruises throughout their body. The victim’s father said his daughter needed nearly four dozen stitches.

“I was devastated. And when I saw what she looked like – we went straight to the hospital,” the victim’s father said.

“Allegations of threats being made and actual injuries by using a knife,” a judge said during probable cause court this week. “The court notes that the alleged choking was done using a belt.”

Smith appeared in probable cause court and was charged with assault of a family member, aggravated sexual assault, and aggravated assault on a family member.

The victim’s father told ABC13 she said she was dragged across the floor by her neck with the belt. The woman escaped after the abuse reportedly went on for hours.

“I am so grateful. I am so happy somebody looked out for her,” the victim’s father said.

He said that “somebody,” unfortunately, wasn’t law enforcement. Instead, it was a neighbor. He said law enforcement took hours to respond.

“I hope the police can get better response times to these things because waiting over an hour and not even showing up is ridiculous,” he said.

The neighbor who called 911 said it took more than three hours for help to arrive, so ABC13 asked the Harris County Sheriff’s office about it.

Representatives told Eyewitness News a dispatcher categorized this situation as a priority two call based on the information they received.

Priority two basically means there is no immediate threat, and deputies respond when they get a chance.

If it was classified as a priority one call, HCSO said deputies would have responded immediately.

The victim and neighbor said 911 was called multiple times.

“I just want the police to make a quick response, especially if it’s domestic violence,” the victim’s father said.

He said he plans to file a formal complaint about the delayed response.

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