Man Punches Pregnant Woman in the Stomach at the Missoula Shelter

Missoula, MT (KGVO-AM News) - At approximately 1:11 a.m. on January 23, 2023, a Missoula Police Department Officer received a notification from the dispatch center regarding an assault that had just occurred at the Johnson Street warming shelter. The initial report indicated that an adult male had assaulted a pregnant female by punching her and possibly strangled her.  

Officers arrived on the scene shortly after the call and located a suspect male matching the description. The male was placed in handcuffs, but an officer felt him tensing up. The suspect male, who was identified as Deshawn Whitedirt, began to resist the officer’s commands. 

Man Resists Arrest

Although restrained, Whitedirt attempted to unbalance officers on icy and somewhat uneven conditions. Whitedirt continued to resist and an officer held him onto the hood of a patrol vehicle. Whitedirt then began to violently slam his head several times on the hood of the car prompting the officer to hold Whitedirt’s head down to prevent him from injuring himself or the officers. 

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Whitedirt continued to resist and an officer ultimately decided to request a “WRAP" restraint device be brought to their location. These restraints are requested when officers are attempting to control non-compliant subjects who pose a safety risk to themselves or officers after the application of traditional restraints fail to mitigate further risk. 

Upon ensuring that Whitedirt was not in possession of anything that resembled a weapon, he was placed into the WRAP restraint device without issue. With the scene secure and several other officers present, an officer advised the dispatch center that the medical personnel could enter the scene to assess the victim that they had not been able to contact yet. 

Female Victim Explains What Happened

An officer met with an adult female, identified as Jane Doe, who was standing by the port-a-potties. He could hear her sniffling and could see that she was crying. They walked inside the shelter where it was warm so they could wait for paramedics. As they walked, the officer could see that Doe was limping. Doe also had many scratches on the back side of her left calf.  

Despite her oversized sweatshirt it was immediately obvious to the officer that Doe was very pregnant. She told the officer that she was 8 months pregnant, and the officer later learned that her due date is February 6th. 

The officer asked Doe to explain what happened. She told the officer that she was inside one of the port-a-potties and had hit the door with either her foot or her knee. Whitedirt was outside and yelled to her “are you f*****g trying to start s**t with me inside there?” Doe said that she responded with “no” and explained that she didn’t even know who Whitedirt was. 

Whitedirt responded by forcing open the door to the port-a-pottie and attacking Doe. Doe explained that Whitedirt entered the port-a-pottie and used two hands to grab either side of the collar of her sweatshirt. Whitedirt then pulled up on the collar and lifted Doe off the toilet. Doe said that this caused her sweatshirt to strangle her. She explained that she had difficulty breathing and saw stars. When she called 911, she said that she may have lost consciousness. 

After Whitedirt lifted Doe by her collar, he shoved her back down into the corner of the port-a-pottie. According to court documents, Doe said that when she tried to get up Whitedirt punched her in her belly. Doe pointed to the top center of her belly just below her ribs indicating that’s where she was punched. 

Paramedics arrived to treat Doe at this time, and the officer stepped back while they assisted her. Doe was then transported by ambulance to Community Medical Center. 

Check the Surveillance Footage

An officer remained on the scene to review surveillance footage. The officer observed Whitedirt walk over to the outhouse restroom and attempt to open the closed door. This appeared to enrage Whitedirt who then violently attempted to open the door. These actions began to tip the structure forward and backward while the female remained inside. The door eventually opens, and Whitedirt proceeds to either punch or violently shove the female. 

Whitedirt is currently being charged with felony aggravated assault and resisting arrest. On January 23, 2023, Whitedirt made his initial appearance in Missoula Justice Court and his bond was set at $20,000. 

The information in this article was obtained from sources that are publicly viewable.