McKINNEY, Texas (AP) — 2 p.m. (CDT)
A North Texas police officer was reluctant to respond to a disturbance at a community pool where he wrestled a black teenage girl to the ground because he had already responded to two suicide calls, which had taken an “emotional toll.”
Jane Bishkin, the attorney for former McKinney Cpl. Eric Casebolt, said at a news conference Wednesday that Casebolt ultimately felt compelled to answer the call because of reports of fighting at the pool.
Bishkin says Casebolt, who resigned Tuesday, and his family has been forced to leave his home because he’s received death threats following the release of a video that showed his actions.
She says Casebolt apologizes for his actions and acknowledges that his emotions got the better of him Friday.
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1 p.m. (CDT)
National and local civil rights leaders want a former North Texas police officer to be criminally charged for his actions last week while responding to a disturbance at a community pool.
They said Wednesday at a news conference in the Dallas suburb of McKinney that it’s not enough that Eric Casebolt has resigned from the McKinney police force. They say he needs to be charged for wrestling a black teenage girl to the ground.
They did not specify what crime he should be charged with.
Casebolt, who is white, resigned Tuesday after facing heavy criticism following his actions Friday, when dozens of teens, many of them black, had gathered at a neighborhood pool for a party. Cellphone video showed Casebolt forcing the girl to the ground.
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2 a.m. (CDT)
The affluent Dallas suburb of McKinney is fast growing, its public schools are highly regarded and it’s been ranked by one publication as America’s best place to live.
But video that prompted a white McKinney police officer to resign amid scrutiny over how he treated a group of black teenagers at a pool party has raised concerns about race. And McKinney only three years ago settled lengthy litigation alleging racial segregation in its public housing.
Officer Eric Casebolt is seen on video forcing a teenage girl to the ground and pulling his firearm after two males rushed forward in apparent protest. He resigned Tuesday.
