Two Fort Worth police officials have been demoted for their roles in leaking body-camera footage and personnel records after the controversial arrest of Jacqueline Craig and her two teenage daughters.

Abdul Pridgen (Fort Worth Police Department)

Police Chief Joel Fitzgerald demoted the two men — Assistant Chief Abdul Pridgen and Deputy Chief Vance Keyes — to the rank of captain at meetings Friday that were referred to as "disciplinary hearings." Keyes will be suspended three days, and Fitzgerald is recommending that Pridgen be demoted further, to sergeant.

Afterward, Pridgen told reporters: "I'm pretty sure they can expect a lawsuit."

Vance Keyes (KXAS-TV (NBC5))

At a news conference Friday evening, Fitzgerald said that he reassigned Keyes and Pridgen because they were not truthful with investigators when asked about the leak.

"This is one of the most difficult decisions I've had to make as police chief," Fitzgerald said.

Investigators found that Pridgen downloaded the files from an internal website on Jan. 18 while Keyes was in his office; the files were later uploaded to a public website.

"Both of these men were in a chain of command that oversees the internal-affairs section, and they had a unique duty to protect that information," Fitzgerald said. "Someone once said there's no right way to do a wrong thing. I think that applies here."

The footage leaked to Craig's attorneys shows William Martin, a white police officer, wrestling Craig, a black woman, to the ground and pointing a stun gun at her daughters before arresting them Dec. 21.

Mayor Betsy Price called the decision to demote the officers "an important step for the entire community."

"This is difficult for everyone, but I support our chief in this decision," Price said in a statement to KDFW-TV (Channel 4).

Before the body-cam footage was leaked, cellphone video of the incident went viral, setting off a firestorm of backlash.

Martin was suspended for 10 days, and charges were later dropped against Craig and her daughters.

In a statement, Craig's attorney Lee Merritt blasted the decision in comparison with Martin's punishment.

"The core values in the department become clear: An officer that assaults black women and children, falsifies documents, repeatedly violates citizen's civil rights, that's no big deal," Merritt wrote, "but if officers break with the long-standing tradition of turning a blind eye to brutality, corruption and racism, this will not be tolerated."

The Fort Worth Police Department launched the investigation into the leak because the video contained juveniles and personnel files are supposed to stay confidential.

Pridgen and Keyes were temporarily relieved of their commands in March as part of the investigation.

Both chiefs retained criminal-defense lawyers, who said in March that their clients were innocent.

Pridgen, who's been with the department for 25 years, was previously one of six finalists for the Fort Worth police chief position, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reports.

Keyes, who's been with the department 17 years, was in charge of operational command, which includes professional standards, the training division and the communications division.