2015 Texas pool party incident

Last updated

2015 Texas pool party incident
Collin County Texas Incorporated Areas McKinney highlighted.svg
Location of McKinney in Collin County, Texas
DateJune 5, 2015 (2015-06-05)
VenueCraig Ranch North
Location McKinney, Texas, United States
Also known asMcKinney Pool Party
CauseEric Casebolt, a McKinney police officer, was video-recorded violently restraining an unarmed 15-year-old African-American girl at a pool party.
Filmed byBrandon Brooks
OutcomeGrand jury declined to indict officer involved in incident

The 2015 Texas pool party incident, also known as the "McKinney pool party", was a civil disturbance that occurred on June 5, 2015, at a pool party in McKinney, Texas, United States.

Contents

While responding to 911 calls that reported the trespassing of dozens of individuals on private property, a McKinney police officer, corporal Eric Casebolt, was video-recorded violently restraining Dajerria Becton, a 15-year-old black girl wearing a swimsuit. He later drew his handgun on unarmed teen witnesses during the same incident. [1]

Brandon Brooks filmed the encounter and posted the video on YouTube. Within hours, millions of people had seen it. [2]

Casebolt was placed on administrative leave pending an investigation and he resigned within days. [3] The incident sparked protests in McKinney involving hundreds of people. [3] [4] A grand jury declined to indict the officer.

Incident

On June 5, 2015, police were called to a pool party and cookout at Craig Ranch North, an upper-middle-class neighborhood in McKinney.

Tatyana and Aryana Rhodes, African-American teens and neighborhood residents, had invited friends to the event to celebrate the end of the school year. [5] Rhodes's mother, LaShauna Burks, told WFAA the party was approved by the neighborhood Homeowners Association (HoA); however, the HoA denied her claim. [6]

Benét Embry, an attendee and resident, witnessed "a teenage party get way out of control." [7] Another witness, Sean Toon, told security guards that teens were "jumping the fence." [6] Neighborhood security was called to remove those accused of trespassing.

Attendee Miles Jai Thomas told HuffPost that the security guard "started making up rules to keep [African-American partygoers] out." While events were unfolding, a white woman made racist comments towards attendees. Tatyana Rhodes and the woman had an altercation. [8] Police were called to the scene as it started to escalate.

Although the original Facebook statement by the McKinney Police Department has been deleted, Snopes cited the post:

On June 5, 2015 at approximately 7:15 p.m., officers from the McKinney Police Department responded to a disturbance at the Craig Ranch North Community Pool. The initial call came in as a disturbance involving multiple juveniles at the location, who do not live in the area or have permission to be there, refusing to leave. McKinney Police received several additional calls related to this incident advising that juveniles were now actively fighting. First responding officers encountered a large crowd that refused to comply with police commands. Nine additional units responded to the scene. Officers were eventually able to gain control of the situation. [9]

After being asked to disperse from the pool, Becton told police corporal Eric Casebolt she needed to find her glasses. Texas Monthly describes the video footage:

Moments later, [Becton is] thrown to the ground and grabbed by the hair. When two boys approach, [Casebolt] pulls his gun on them, leading the girl to scream. When she does so, he grabs her again by the back of the head and slams her face-first to the ground, at which point he holds her down by planting his knee on her back as she cries, “I’m not fighting you.” [10]

Casebolt held his gun in a "low ready" position as those attempting to intervene retreated. [1] [11] One teen, Adrian Martin, was arrested after appearing to lunge at the officer. Martin says he was attempting to comfort Becton, his brother's classmate; a friend bumped into Martin and made his actions seem aggressive.

After Casebolt pointed his gun, Martin ran away because he feared that he might be shot by police. He was the only person taken into custody after the incident. [12] Charges were later dropped and Martin did not sue the McKinney Police Department. [13]

The entire event was captured on a cell phone camera by a teenager who lived in the neighborhood. [14]

Becton was not charged. [13] [12]

Aftermath

Casebolt, a McKinney Police Department officer who served in the department for ten years and received the McKinney Patrolman of the Year award for 2008, [15] was placed on administrative leave after the video went viral; he subsequently resigned. [16] [17]

According to his lawyer, Jane Bishkin, Casebolt's work that day prior to the pool incident had taken "an emotional toll." He had dealt with one suicide attempt and another unusually disturbing suicide before arriving at Craig Ranch North. [11] [18] Bishkin noted that the officer was apologetic for his actions, but denied that they were racially motivated. He acknowledged that he "let his emotions get the better of him." According to Bishkin, a white woman was also detained during the incident.

Gawker submitted a Public Information Act request for Casebolt's records and emails concerning his conduct. A McKinney attorney claimed the request would cost over $79,000. Gawker viewed this exorbitant amount as a "deliberate attempt to conceal information" and challenged the fee. [19] A spokesperson for the city later called the estimate "erroneous" and "inaccurate," promising to provide an updated estimate. [20]

Tatyana Rhodes faced difficulty finding venues after the June 5 incident. The venue that was to be the site of the next party in the series received a number of threatening and harassing phone calls. [21]

Reaction

On June 8, 2015, about 800 protesters marched through McKinney demanding Casebolt's firing. [3] [4] They walked from a school to the swimming pools where the incident unfolded. Many of the protesters accused the officers involved of being racist. Some demonstrators held signs reading "My skin color is not a crime" and "Don't tread on our kids." [2] [22]

McKinney Police Chief Greg Conley said that the officer's actions were "indefensible" and did not reflect on the department's high standard of action. Conley stated that the officer was "out of control" during the incident. The police department also said they had started an investigation. [23] [7] [24]

Criminal proceedings

None of the individuals accused of trespassing were charged with a crime.

Collin County prosecutors ordered the Texas Rangers to conduct an independent investigation. [25] On January 11, 2016, the Texas Rangers concluded their investigation and returned it to the Collin County District Attorney's Office for further handling. [26]

On June 23, 2016, a grand jury declined to indict Casebolt, closing the criminal case against him. [27]

Civil suit

On January 4, 2017, Dajerria Becton and her legal guardian, Shashona Becton, filed a civil suit against Casebolt, the McKinney Police Department, and the city of McKinney, TX. The suit sought damages of US$5 million for the officer's use of excessive force and holding Dajerria Becton without probable cause, thus violating her constitutional rights. [28]

This was the second suit brought against Casebolt involving race. In 2008, he was sued by Robert Earl Brown. Brown, an African-American man, alleged the officer of "racial profiling and excessive force". [10] Brown's suit against Casebolt was dismissed in 2009.

The Becton family was represented by attorney Kim T. Cole, a graduate of Howard University School of Law. [29] In 2018, the case was settled for $184,850. [30] According to The Dallas Morning News, Becton received $148,850 and the remaining $36,000 was divided among six other teens involved in the incident. [31]

To celebrate the lawsuit's settlement and high school graduation, Cole planned to throw a "fabulous" pool party for Dajerria Becton and others detained at the Craig Ranch North community pool in 2015. She hoped it would "offer some healing and mark the start of a new chapter" of the teens' lives. [29]

Per Cole's interview with TeenVogue, Dajerria Becton planned to start a business with her settlement and pursue a career in dentistry. [29]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">McKinney, Texas</span> City in the United States

McKinney is a city in and the county seat of Collin County, Texas, United States. It is Collin County's third-largest city, after Plano and Frisco. A suburb of the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, McKinney is about 32 miles (51 km) north of Dallas.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Seattle Police Department</span> Seattle, United States law enforcement agency

The Seattle Police Department (SPD) is the principal law enforcement agency of the city of Seattle, Washington, United States. It is responsible for the whole city except for the campus of the University of Washington.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">San Antonio Police Department</span> Municipal police force in the United States

The San Antonio Police Department (SAPD) is the primary law enforcement agency serving the City of San Antonio, Texas, United States and some surrounding areas. Its headquarters are at South Santa Rosa district. SAPD is one of the largest municipal police departments in Texas.

Joel Burns is an American politician. A city councilman for District 9 in Fort Worth, Texas, he received extensive press attention in October 2010 after speaking at a council meeting about the issue of suicide among lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender youth, as part of Dan Savage's It Gets Better campaign.

The Beitunia killings refers to the consecutive killings of two Palestinian teenagers which took place on the occasion of the annual Nakba Day protests on May 15, 2014, near the Israeli Ofer Prison outside Beitunia in the occupied West Bank. Israel described the protest as a riot in which a crowd refused to disperse, and initially denied responsibility, saying the cause of the deaths was unknown, the deaths were faked, that video clips of the killings either failed to capture the violence of the scene shortly before or might have been manipulated, that soldiers had been provoked, and that only rubber bullets had been fired.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ferguson unrest</span> Aftermath of the shooting of Michael Brown on August 9, 2014 in Ferguson, Missouri

The Ferguson unrest was a series of protests and riots which began in Ferguson, Missouri on August 10, 2014, the day after the fatal shooting of Michael Brown by FPD officer Darren Wilson. The unrest sparked a vigorous debate in the United States about the relationship between law enforcement officers and Black Americans, the militarization of police, and the use-of-force law in Missouri and nationwide. Continuing activism expanded the issues by including modern-day debtors prisons, for-profit policing, and school segregation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Killing of Tamir Rice</span> 2014 police killing of an African-American boy in Cleveland, Ohio

On November 22, 2014, Tamir E. Rice, a twelve year old African-American boy, was killed in Cleveland, Ohio, by Timothy Loehmann, a 26-year-old white patrolman with the Cleveland Division of Police (CDP). Rice was carrying a replica toy gun; Loehmann shot him almost immediately upon arriving on the scene. Loehmann and his partner, 46-year-old Frank Garmback, had been responding to a dispatch call regarding a male who had a gun. A caller reported that a male was pointing "a pistol" at random people at the Cudell Recreation Center, a park in Cleveland's Public Works Department. The caller twice told to the dispatcher that the pistol was "probably fake", and also stated that the male was "probably a juvenile", but the dispatcher did not relay either of these statements to Loehmann and Garmback.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hands up, don't shoot</span> Slogan and gesture

"Hands up, don't shoot", sometimes shortened to "hands up", is a slogan and gesture that originated after the August 9, 2014, police shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, and then adopted at protests against police brutality elsewhere in the United States. The slogan implies one has their hands in the air, a common sign of submission, and is therefore not a threat to an approaching police officer. Witness reports from the Brown shooting are conflicted as to what Brown was doing with his hands when he was shot. One witness claimed Brown had his hands in the air before being killed, which was the basis for the slogan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tommy Sotomayor</span> American film producer

Thomas Jerome Harris is an American radio and internet talk show host, YouTube personality, conservative political commentator, men's rights activist, and film producer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Killing of Ramarley Graham</span> 2012 police killing of a black man in New York City

The killing of Ramarley Graham took place in the borough of the Bronx in New York City on February 2, 2012. Richard Haste, a New York Police Department officer, shot Graham in the bathroom of the latter's apartment. The 18-year-old Graham was in possession of marijuana when Officer Haste tried to stop him on the street. Graham fled to his grandmother’s house, and went into the bathroom to flush the marijuana. Officer Haste forced his way into the building, kicked down the front door and then broke down the bathroom where he shot Ramarley Graham to death. Haste could be seen on surveillance cameras smiling and laughing with the responding officers and detectives—the same men who would later testify they had told Haste that Graham had a gun. Haste claimed to believe Graham had been reaching for a gun in his waistband, but no weapon was recovered.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Murder of Laquan McDonald</span> 2014 police murder of a black teenager in Chicago, Illinois, United States

The murder of Laquan McDonald took place on October 20, 2014, in Chicago, Illinois. McDonald was a 17-year-old who was fatally shot by a Chicago Police Officer, Jason Van Dyke. Police had initially reported that McDonald was behaving erratically while walking down the street, refusing to put down a knife, and that he had lunged at officers. Preliminary internal police reports described the incident similarly, leading to the shooting being judged as justifiable, and Van Dyke not being charged at the time. This was later disproved after a video of the encounter was released, showing that McDonald was walking away.

On the evening of February 22, 2017, protests erupted in Anaheim, California, over the altercation between an off-duty Los Angeles Police Department officer Kevin Ferguson and unnamed 13-year-old that occurred on February 21 and was recorded on a bystander's cell phone camera. In the incident that sparked the protests, a 13-year-old boy was grabbed by an off-duty LAPD officer outside the officer's house, and the 13-year-old's acquaintances tried to confront the officer. The officer took out his handgun and fired one shot near a group of youth; nobody was injured. The 13-year-old and another boy were arrested.

On April 29, 2017, Jordan Edwards, a 15-year-old African-American boy, was murdered by police officer Roy Oliver in Balch Springs, Texas, within the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex. Edwards was shot in the back of the head while riding in the front passenger's seat of a vehicle driving away from officers that attempted to stop it. He was unarmed during the encounter.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Copaganda</span> Promotion of police for their benefit

Copaganda is propaganda efforts to shape public opinion about police or counter criticism of police and anti-police sentiment.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">George Floyd protests in Texas</span> 2020 civil unrest after the murder of George Floyd

This is a list of protests in the U.S. state of Texas related to the murder of George Floyd.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Buffalo police shoving incident</span> Incident during the 2020 George Floyd protests in New York state

On June 4, 2020, amid the George Floyd protests in New York state, police officers from the Buffalo Police Department pushed 75-year-old Martin Gugino during a confrontation in Buffalo's Niagara Square, causing him to fall to the ground which left him bleeding from the ear. Gugino was seriously injured, sustaining a brain injury, and was still unable to walk nearly two weeks later. He was hospitalized for nearly four weeks.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brandon Tatum</span> American political commentator (born 1987)

Brandon Orlando Tatum, also known as The Officer Tatum, is an American YouTuber, conservative political commentator, author, radio personality, former police officer, and former college football player.

Darnella Frazier is an American woman who recorded the murder of George Floyd on May 25, 2020, posting her video on Facebook and Instagram. The video undermined the initial account of Floyd's death by the Minneapolis Police Department, and served as evidence leading to criminal charges against four police officers. Frazier testified during the trial, which ended with the conviction of Derek Chauvin on murder charges, and the convictions of the other three officers on manslaughter. She received a special award and citation from the Pulitzer Prize board in 2021.

References

  1. 1 2 Cole-Frowe, Carol (June 8, 2015). "Jarring Image of Police's Use of Force at Texas Pool Party". New York Times. Retrieved June 9, 2015.
  2. 1 2 Fisher, Marc (June 8, 2015). "Didn't the McKinney, Texas, police officer know he was being recorded?". Washington Post. Retrieved June 9, 2015.
  3. 1 2 3 Stone, Mike (June 9, 2015). "Protesters seek firing of Texas officer who threw girl to ground". Reuters. Retrieved June 9, 2015.
  4. 1 2 "McKinney officer resigns due to video of pulling gun on teens - Fox4News.com". June 9, 2015. Archived from the original on June 9, 2015. Retrieved June 9, 2015.
  5. ↑ Lopez, German (June 7, 2015). "Police officer who slammed black girl to the ground at McKinney, Texas, pool party resigns". Vox. Retrieved June 16, 2020.
  6. 1 2 "Back story: What led up to McKinney incident". wfaa.com. Retrieved June 16, 2020.
  7. 1 2 Reagan Roy. "EXCLUSIVE: Tyler native who witnessed McKinney pool incident defends police". MYEASTTEX. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved July 15, 2016.
  8. ↑ Craven, Julia (June 7, 2015). "Teen Speaks Out About What Happened When Cops Broke Up A Texas Pool Party". HuffPost. Retrieved June 16, 2020.
  9. ↑ "McKinney Pool Party Controversy". Snopes.com. June 8, 2015. Retrieved June 16, 2020.
  10. 1 2 "The McKinney Pool Party Incident Sparks Another Lawsuit". Texas Monthly. January 5, 2017. Retrieved June 16, 2020.
  11. 1 2 "McKinney police officer apologizes, blames emotional stress". Yahoo! News. June 10, 2015.
  12. 1 2 Mervosh, Sarah (June 9, 2015). "McKinney police officer Eric Casebolt resigns after pool party video goes viral". Dallas Morning News. Archived from the original on June 9, 2015. Retrieved June 12, 2015.
  13. 1 2 Davis, Todd (June 10, 2015). "Charges Against Teen at McKinney Pool Party". NBCDFW .
  14. ↑ Bellware, Kim (June 7, 2015). "Cop Placed On Leave After Video Emerges Of Brutal Arrests At Teen Pool Party". Huffington Post. Retrieved June 10, 2015.
  15. ↑ "McKinney Police receive awards". McKinney Courier-Gazette. April 19, 2009.
  16. ↑ Southall, Ashley (June 9, 2015). "McKinney, Tex., Police Officer Resigns Over Incident Caught on Video". The New York Times. Retrieved June 10, 2015.
  17. ↑ "Protest rally draws hundreds". Yahoo! News. June 8, 2015.
  18. ↑ "Officer's Lawyer Offers Apology on His Behalf". NBCDFW. June 10, 2015.
  19. ↑ Cush, Andy (June 29, 2015). "Texas Town Is Charging Us $79,000 for Emails About Pool Party Abuse Cop". Gawker. Retrieved June 16, 2020.
  20. ↑ Cush, Andy (July 2, 2015). "McKinney, Texas, Apologizes for "Erroneous" $79,000 FOIA Bill". Gawker. Retrieved June 16, 2020.
  21. ↑ "Future Of "Make It Clap" Parties Uncertain". CBS News - DFW. Archived from the original on June 14, 2015. Retrieved June 12, 2015.
  22. ↑ "Protest over Texas pool party incident". BBC News. June 9, 2015.
  23. ↑ "Policeman who pulled gun at pool party resigns". Yahoo! News. June 9, 2015.
  24. ↑ "Teen speaks out after recording viral pool party video". fox4kc.com. June 9, 2015.
  25. ↑ Prosecutor orders independent investigation in police officer's actions at Texas pool party, Fox News, June 15, 2015.
  26. ↑ "Texas Rangers Submit Report About McKinney Pool Party To Prosecutors". CBS DFW. January 11, 2016. Retrieved January 11, 2016.
  27. ↑ "Grand Jury No Bills Former McKinney Pool Party Cop". CBS News . June 23, 2016. Retrieved June 23, 2016.
  28. ↑ Chiquillo, Julieta (January 5, 2017). "Girl pinned down at McKinney pool party sues ex-cop, city for $5 million". dallasnews.com. The Dallas Morning News, Inc. Retrieved January 5, 2017.
  29. 1 2 3 Ritchie, Andrea J. (June 19, 2018). "How a Violent, Viral Arrest Changed Dajerria Becton's Life". Teen Vogue. Retrieved June 16, 2020.
  30. ↑ Uhler, Tom (May 29, 2018). "Settlement reached in viral video case of McKinney police breaking up pool party". Fort Worth Star Telegram.
  31. ↑ "Attempt to heal rift over McKinney pool party incident turns into heated exchange between activist, mayor". Dallas News. May 29, 2018. Retrieved June 16, 2020.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.