Protests follow video of officer drawing gun on black teens
Published 10:14 am Tuesday, June 9, 2015
McKINNEY, Texas — Hundreds of demonstrators marched Monday night to the pool where a white police officer pinned a black teenage girl to the ground and pulled a gun on others over the weekend. The protesters carried signs that included the phrases, “My skin color is not a crime” and “Fire Eric Casebolt.”
Some community activists in McKinney, an affluent, predominantly white Dallas suburb, have accused Casebolt, a 41-year-old officer, of racism. Others urged calm until the facts are investigated.
According to neighbors, a woman who lives in the community reserved the pool for a party, said Benét Embry, a black local radio personality who witnessed the Friday incident. The homeowners’ association limits the number of guests each homeowner may have at the pool to two. But about 130 people, mostly kids, showed up. At one point, several kids began jumping over the fence to get into the pool area and were causing a disturbance, Embry said, and a couple of fights broke out.
“This was a teenage party that got out of hand,” Embry said.
Police said some of the young people did not live in the area and did not have permission to be at the pool.
The events were captured on video by a teenager. In the video, a black teenager in a bikini repeatedly cries out, “Call my momma!” as Casebolt pins her to the ground, only moments after drawing his handgun on other black teens.
“On your face!” he yelled at the girl, amid screaming from a crowd of onlookers.