Update: A grand jury in Colin County, TX, decided not to indict the former McKinney police officer who was caught on video violently subduing a group of Black teens during a pool party last summer.
The jurors found that there wasn’t enough evidence to prosecute former Officer Eric Casebolt, who is white, for his role in the incident. Casebolt was heavily condemned after the video caught national attention.
The decision was made public the same day one of the multiple Baltimore police officers on trial for the death of Freddie Gray was found not guilty in all charges.
Update: June 9, 2015, 6 p.m.: Eric Casebolt, the police officer suspended after being caught on video violently subduing a teenage girl and pointing a gun at two boys trying to help her, has resigned, according to Texas TV station WFAA. Update: June 9, 2015: The young woman who hosted the end-of-school pool party that descended into police violence this weekend has spoken out, and she said that a neighbor's racist remarks led to the display of force. “This lady was saying racial slurs to some friends that came to the cookout," Tatiana Rhodes, 19, told the local photographer who posted her account online. "She was saying such things as ‘Black effer’ and ‘that’s why you live in Section 8 homes.'” Then, according to Rhodes, one of the adult white women who was insulting the Black teens slapped her. White residents of the McKinney neighborhood where the pool is located defended the local police and their actions. “I feel absolutely horrible for the police and what’s going on," one woman told a local Fox reporter. "They were completely outnumbered and they were just doing the right thing when these kids were fleeing and using profanity and threatening security guards.” This story was originally published on June 7, 2015. A McKinney, Texas, police officer was placed on administrative leave Sunday after a profanity-laced video surfaced showing him violently arresting teens and pulling a weapon at a pool party. Nine units were dispatched to the Craig Ranch North Community Pool on Friday where they then "encountered a large crowd that refused to comply with police commands," police spokeswoman Sabrina Boston told KHOU Houston in a statement.
Update: June 9, 2015, 6 p.m.: Eric Casebolt, the police officer suspended after being caught on video violently subduing a teenage girl and pointing a gun at two boys trying to help her, has resigned, according to Texas TV station WFAA. Update: June 9, 2015: The young woman who hosted the end-of-school pool party that descended into police violence this weekend has spoken out, and she said that a neighbor's racist remarks led to the display of force. “This lady was saying racial slurs to some friends that came to the cookout," Tatiana Rhodes, 19, told the local photographer who posted her account online. "She was saying such things as ‘Black effer’ and ‘that’s why you live in Section 8 homes.'” Then, according to Rhodes, one of the adult white women who was insulting the Black teens slapped her. White residents of the McKinney neighborhood where the pool is located defended the local police and their actions. “I feel absolutely horrible for the police and what’s going on," one woman told a local Fox reporter. "They were completely outnumbered and they were just doing the right thing when these kids were fleeing and using profanity and threatening security guards.” This story was originally published on June 7, 2015. A McKinney, Texas, police officer was placed on administrative leave Sunday after a profanity-laced video surfaced showing him violently arresting teens and pulling a weapon at a pool party. Nine units were dispatched to the Craig Ranch North Community Pool on Friday where they then "encountered a large crowd that refused to comply with police commands," police spokeswoman Sabrina Boston told KHOU Houston in a statement.
She went on to say that the teens in question "do not live in the area or have permission to be there." McKinney Police Chief Greg Conley spoke to reporters Sunday afternoon to let the community know the force is "committed to preserving the peace and security."
In a press conference about the incident on Sunday, per the International Business Times, he said that the teens who had been cuffed were temporarily retained and then released to parents or guardians. No injuries had been reported, he said.
The nearly seven-minute video taken by a bystander seems to be responsible for the officer's suspension, lending further credence to the idea that body cameras might help curb unnecessary violence by cops. The video's poster, Brandon Brooks, states on Youtube that the disturbance was caused by a fight between a mother and daughter.
"Everyone who was getting put on the ground was black, Mexican, Arabic," he told Buzzfeed News on Sunday. "[The cop] didn't even look at me. It was kind of like I was invisible."8
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