Texas police officer in pool party video identified

[XtremeJibber2001]

Not sure if anyone saw this on the news. Can watch the video below. Officer called to address unruly teens on private property that wouldn't leave when asked. Officer arrives and uses force that wasn't commensurate to the situation. I'm not sure if I'm more surprised by the Officer or the children disobeying the officers repeated commands and then trying to grab the officer. Good way to get shot! Even after one kid is in cuffs, more kids confront the irate officer. Just amazing.

Texas police officer in pool party video identified
Lauren Zakalik, WFAA-TV, Dallas-Fort Worth 7:08 a.m. EDT June 9, 2015

A new video shot by a McKinney, Texas teen who lives in the neighborhood where the violent pool party incident between police and teens happened, provides more perspective into what happened when an officer slammed a teenage girl to the ground. VPC

McKINNEY, Texas — The organizer of a pool party in Texas where a police officer's interactions with a 15-year-old girl were caught on video, said Sunday the police officer had "no reason" to act the way he did.

The seven-minute YouTube video shows Cpl. Eric Casebolt using profanity and aggressively throwing a 15-year-old girl in a bathing suit to the ground, face down. He then appeared to pin her down with his knees.

"He was just aggressive for no reason at all," said Tatyana Rhodes, one of the party's organizers. "It was horrible."

USA TODAY
Texas police officer suspended after chaotic pool party incident

Along with her sister and mother, Rhodes organized and threw the pool party and cookout Friday in the Craig Ranch neighborhood of McKinney. Rhodes said everything started with a woman, who picked a fight with her, and then the police were called. McKinney police confirm they were called to the pool for a disturbance and discovered juveniles fighting and refusing to leave.

Rhodes said when police showed up, kids got scared and started running.

"Everything could've been solved way better than what it was," Rhodes said. "There were other officers that were actually nice to people."

In the video, captured by 15-year-old Brandon Brooks, Casebolt appears to be cursing kids out as he tries to round them up. As things escalate, he pulls a gun. It all leads to the incident with the girl, his knees in her back, her head to the ground.

Since the video went viral, McKinney police have called in extra dispatchers to handle incoming phone calls, asking for Casebolt to be fired.

"Our initial reaction was to place the officer on administrative leave until we can conduct a complete and thorough investigation of the incident," said McKinney Police Chief Greg Conley.

Tatyana Rhodes organized the pool party in McKinney, Texas, where a video of a police officer aggressively throwing a 15-year-old girl to the ground has been circling on social media. Rhodes said the officer was "aggressive for no reason at all."

During a news conference Sunday, Conley said, "The McKinney Police Department is committed to treating all persons fairly under the law. We are committed to preserving the peace and safety of our community for all of our citizens."

A dozen officers responded Friday afternoon, but only one is under investigation — Casebolt, a 10-year veteran with the department.

"Watching 30 seconds or seven minutes of a clip, it doesn't tell the whole story," said Sean Toon, a resident of the Craig Ranch neighborhood. Toon said he was one of the people who called police Friday and saw the whole thing. He said he's behind the officer and his actions. He brought a supportive sign to the pool Sunday to prove it.

"I think he did what he thought he had to do to control the situation," Toon said.

"I don't know if the officers really thought about the perspective that it was showing that the people that were being ordered to the ground were people of color. All the white people were kind of walking around — not being talked to. Not being yelled at," said Pete Schulte, a Dallas defense attorney who also was a reserve McKinney officer for four years.

Schulte said it's uncertain whether Casebolt committed a crime, but he probably violated department policy.

"I'm sure that internal affairs is investigating him for conduct unbecoming of an officer based on the profanity that was used and for the use of force whether it was appropriate to throw the ... girl down on the ground and whether it was appropriate to pull his weapon," Schulte said.

"Having seen the YouTube video I am disturbed and concerned by the incident and actions depicted in the video. Our expectation as a City Council is that our police department and other departments will act professionally and with appropriate restraint relative to the situation they are faced with," said Mayor Brian Loughmiller in a written statement.

After a Texas officer's confrontation with a 15-year-old girl in McKinney, Texas was caught on video, community leaders are calling for action against the officer over his actions in the now viral video. VPC

The Rev. Al Sharpton told USA TODAY on Monday that he was alerted to watch the video by the Dallas chapter of his National Action Network (NAN). He described McKinney as indicative of a police community that has a "tendency to throw police procedures into the wind."

"I was praying it didn't end in (the officer) shooting someone," Sharpton said in a phone interview from New York. "(He) was a trigger away from yet another police shooting, which is why he should be prosecuted."

Sharpton said cellphones and technology are bringing to people's living rooms evidence of what activists have been saying all along — that some white officers have a complete disregard for black lives.

"It was horrific for me," said Aryana Rhodes, 15, who helped her sister organize the event.

You can see the younger Rhodes in the video, trying to help her friend as she pleads for her mom. She believes it was that plea that seemed to set the officer off.

Protesters rallied outside McKinney police headquartersProtesters rallied outside McKinney police headquarters Monday night after one officer was suspended for his actions at a pool party disturbance on Friday. (Photo: WFAA)

"She has the freedom to speak and what she did was nothing wrong," Aryana Rhodes said. "The officer was just out of control."

The family of the 15-year-old girl declined to speak on camera at the advice of their attorney, but the girl's mother said earlier Sunday that she was horrified by what she saw on the video.

Sharpton said he is considering holding a rally in McKinney as early as this weekend to demand that the officer who pulled the gun be fired.

Protesters rallied at Comstock Elementary School in McKinney Monday evening, carrying signs urging an end to police brutality and justice for McKinney teens.

Contributing: Jason Whitely, WFAA-TV, Dallas-Fort Worth; Russell Motley, USA TODAY.

[Highway Star]

I wonder....

http://theconservativetreehouse.com/201 ... bdivision/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
http://theconservativetreehouse.com/201 ... ent-verse/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Bubba]

There is, of course, a different version...

http://www.vox.com/2015/6/9/8747567/mck ... ns?ref=yfp" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

In the story of the Texas pool party, where a police officer was caught on tape manhandling and pointing a gun at young black teenagers, there's a lot to be concerned and outraged about. But there's also one tiny thing to celebrate: the actions of two white kids.

Just 14 and 15 years old, they wasted no time speaking on the record about the racist comments made by adults that they said set off the incident, and recording the discriminatory treatment they said they witnessed.....


...According to BuzzFeed News's David Mack's report on the incident, Grace Stone, a white 14-year-old, said when she and her friends responded to white adults' comments that the black pool party guests should return to "Section 8 [public housing]," the older women became violent.

[SnoBrdr]

'He did nothing wrong': Florida principal fired after defending Texas cop.

http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2015/06/ ... s-cop.html

[freeski]

'He did nothing wrong': Florida principal fired after defending Texas cop.

http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2015/06/ ... s-cop.html

ACLU needs to go to bat for this guy. This is BS.

I wondered what else happened to the cop before this call. It turns out he had gone to two suicides. That might put you in a bad mood.

[Bubba]

'He did nothing wrong': Florida principal fired after defending Texas cop.

http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2015/06/ ... s-cop.html

ACLU needs to go to bat for this guy. This is BS.

[XtremeJibber2001]

'He did nothing wrong': Florida principal fired after defending Texas cop.

http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2015/06/ ... s-cop.html

ACLU needs to go to bat for this guy. This is BS.

They won't ....

[SnoBrdr]

'He did nothing wrong': Florida principal fired after defending Texas cop.

http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2015/06/ ... s-cop.html

ACLU needs to go to bat for this guy. This is BS.

They won't ....

They might. You might have forgotten that they went to bat for The American Nazi Party vs the village of Skokie.

[Highway Star]

I'll just drop this one in here. Wonder what kind of spray tan she uses?

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/nationa ... -1.2255743" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[SnoBrdr]

Here's even more collateral damage: A Texas elementary school teacher complained on Facebook about a police officer’s resignation following a chaotic pool party confrontation — and then got booted herself for the venting.

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/nationa ... -1.2255637

Still nothing by the ACLU btw.

[XtremeJibber2001]

Still nothing by the ACLU btw.

But they opened an investigation on the pool party