Rare News Desk
McKinney, Texas, police Cpl. Eric Casebolt has been placed on administrative leave after a YouTube video of a disturbance at a pool party Friday in a North Dallas suburb went viral, according to KDFW.
Videos by Rare
Here are five things we’ve learned about the incident and the officer involved:
1. Casebolt and other officers were reportedly called to the scene Friday evening because several youths were at a neighborhood pool without permission and refused to leave. A bystander took a video that shows youths running from police and several teenagers handcuffed outside Craig Ranch North Community Pool. In the video, an officer later identified as Casebolt appears to use profanity and draw his weapon after throwing a girl in a bathing suit to the ground, according to KDFW.
That girl, identified as 15-year-old Dajerria Becton, said she was invited to the pool and was not involved in the initial disturbance.
“[The officer] grabbed me, twisted my arm on my back and shoved me in the grass and started pulling the back of my braids,” Becton told KDFW. “I was telling him to get off me because my back was hurting bad.”
“It wasn’t right,” added Becton’s aunt, whose name was not given. “I think his force was excessive.”
>> Click here to watch Becton’s interview with KDFW
2. The McKinney Police Department is investigating Casebolt’s response to the incident. “This video has raised concerns that are being investigated by the McKinney Police Department,” the department said in a post to its Facebook page Sunday. “At this time, one of the responding officers has been placed on administrative leave pending the outcome of this investigation.”
3. Several groups condemned Casebolt’s actions. Dominique Alexander with the Next Generation Action Network said the incident appeared to be racially motivated.
No man “should ever touch a young girl, half naked, 95 pounds and slam her,” Alexander told the Dallas Morning News. “That was out of line. He should be fired.”
Mothers Against Police Brutality also said Casebolt should be terminated.
Meanwhile, the American Civil Liberties Union of Texas issued the following statement: “A well-trained police department would have responded more cautiously, with less hostility, and using sophisticated crowd control methods that favor de-escalation not escalation. Without question, guns were not needed and in fact risked turning a group of partying teenagers into a violent encounter that could have turned deadly.”
4. Some residents are defending the police response. A sign thanking officers was on display Sunday at the pool, according to KDFW.
“[Officers] were just doing the right thing when these kids were fleeing and using profanity and threatening security guards,” added one woman who did not want to be identified.
5. Casebolt has worked for the police department for nearly 10 years. The Dallas Morning News reports that Casebolt joined the department in August 2005, according to the officer’s LinkedIn page. He also worked for the Texas Department of Public Safety as a highway patrol trooper from 2003-2005 and served in the U.S. Navy from 1993-2003.
