Officer in Texas pool party video resigns

Rebecca Lopez and Marie Saavedra | WFAA-TV, Dallas-Fort Worth

Police: Cop in pool party video resigns, was 'out of control' The mayor and police chief of McKinney, Texas commented on Cpl. Eric Casebolt's resignation, calling his actions "out of control", referring to Casebolt throwing a teen girl on the ground during a pool party incident.



McKINNEY, Texas — An officer whose actions at a pool-party disturbance Friday were spotlighted in a YouTube video resigned Tuesday from the force, the police chief said.

Cpl. Eric Casebolt, a 10-year veteran of the McKinney Police Department, had been placed on administrative leave after a 7-minute video gained traction on the Internet. The video showed him pushing a bikini-clad black girl to the ground and brandishing his gun at other teens after officers responded to complaints about the party at a community-owned swimming pool.

"The actions of Eric Casebolt are indefensible," police Chief Greg Conley said, calling the officer "out of control during the incident."

"I had 12 officers on the scene, and 11 of them performed according to their training," Conley said. The original video of the incident in this city about 35 miles north of Dallas has been viewed nearly 9.5 million times.

Casebolt made the decision to resign after meeting with the department's internal affairs unit to review possible charges he could face, said lawyer Jane Bishkin, who represents law-enforcement personnel in the Dallas area including the Dallas County Peace Officer's Association.

Texas pool party video leads to social media attacks After videos of a Texas pool party fight and confrontation between a cop and a black teen went viral, some of the social media reactions have turned into personal attacks.

"Right now, there are more questions than answers," the Craig Ranch Association Community Association officials said in a statement Tuesday before Casebolt resigned. "This is a peaceful, increasingly diverse neighborhood that is growing and thriving because of our differences in background, race, reasons for moving here and in many other ways. At this moment, we are asking our neighbors to take a deep breath and share a moment of solidarity that is supportive of our neighborhood, our city, and our future."

The sound of the girl crying for her mother while Casebolt, who is white, forced her to the ground also is troubling to many who have seen the video. Some parents of teens in the video are angry not only that Casebolt used force, but that he cursed at the teens before pulling out his weapon.

"The fact of the matter is the officer recklessly attacks this young lady, who was following his instructions," said Jahi Adisa Bakari, whose daughter shot a second video during the incident. She can be seen in the first video by Brandon Brooks.

"She risked her own life," Bakari said of his own daughter, whom Casebolt forcefully pushed away as she tried to help the 15-year-old girl. "He could have easily turned around and shot. ... She could have been dead."

Jahda Bakari, 13, said her video provides a different angle of Friday's confrontation.

"You can see the actual fear in her face, and that she was screaming," Jahda Bakari, 13, said about the teen, whose name was not released.

At a rally Monday outside an elementary school here, more than a thousand people asked for justice after they say Casebolt was seen throwing down and unholstering his weapon on several of the teen's friends.

Earlier Monday, community leaders gathered at the police department in McKinney, which has almost 150,000 residents, calling for action against Casebolt.

A small group offered support for the officer. "No Laws! No peace!" was the chant coming from the group.

Casebolt, who was a patrol supervisor, is said to be in hiding because of alleged death threats.

Civil-rights activist Dominique Alexander said the rights of the black teenagers were violated and they were treated like animals.

The executive director of Justice Seekers, the Rev. Ronald Wright, said he wants the mayor to file charges against Casebolt. Wright said his group has contacted the U.S. Justice Department to monitor the situation.

"We're setting the stage for a terrorist attack in this country, and the group is not going to be ISIS, it's going to be 'US-IS.' Us against these injustice law officers and people (who) continue to allow racism to grow into this city," Wright said.

While the teens' parents and those at Monday's rally said they demand accountability, they also want people to remain calm and not blame all officers for the actions of one.

"I'm not indicting the entire police department because I saw people doing the right thing. I saw an officer trying to keep the matter right," said Bakari, who commented before Casebolt's resignation. "This guy was out of control. He should be drug-tested and then fired."

Community activists said they want a review of the entire McKinney Police Department to see whether it has a race problem.

"We are standing together against racism, against hatred, against violence," said Pastor Bruce Miller, senior pastor at Christ Fellowship McKinney. "And we are standing up and calling out to the city for justice, peace and love."

Casebolt joined the McKinney Police Department in 2005, according to his now-deleted LinkedIn page. In 2008, he was named Officer of the Year.

Before that, he served as a military police officer in the U.S. Navy and also worked as a Texas state trooper.

Contributing: Jobin Panicker, WFAA-TV, Dallas-Fort Worth.