BALTIMORE, Md. — The police officer who was videotaped slamming a teenage girl to the ground and raising his gun towards others during an incident at a Texas pool has resigned. Cpl. Eric Casebolt’s resignation comes a day after hundreds of protesters marched near the pool in McKinney, Texas where the incident occurred last weekend.
From Cornell William Brooks, NAACP President & CEO:
“The children and families of McKinney, Texas deserve a police department that is committed to stopping crime and preserving justice, not a department that tolerates the use of excessive force. To protect any community, law enforcement officials must respect that community. The resignation of Cpl. Eric Casebolt is a good first step, but hardly the last. The NAACP will continue working with community members and law enforcement to ensure that no one, especially the young people of McKinney, are ever again the victims of excessive force, racial profiling and police brutality. We join the community in wrapping our arms around these young people as they heal from the physical and mental scars this incident may have caused. They are our future, and their lives matter.”
On Monday, June 8th, NAACP leaders from Texas, including Garland Branch President Ricky McNeal, NAACP First Vice President and National Board Member Bob Lydia and Arlington Branch President Alisa Simmons, met with McKinney Police Department Chief Greg Conley. The meeting was called to discuss the concerns McKinney residents have about the aggressive police actions recently demonstrated against minors at a local pool party. During the two-hour meeting, the NAACP made several requests on the community’s behalf.
The primary outcomes of the meeting were:
- The NAACP has asked the families of the children involved to contact our local office and let us know how we can work with the city and police department to thoroughly investigate this incident and provide support.
- The McKinney Police Department informed the NAACP that the investigation would take approximately two weeks to complete. We believe a true and independent investigation will produce an equitable outcome.
- The NAACP has asked that the McKinney Police Department honestly and seriously engages with communities of color in McKinney.
- The NAACP requested both the 911 audio files and police report of the incident. We have filed an Open Records request.
- The NAACP has asked that the evaluations files and psychological exam of the officers involved be made public.
The NAACP looks forward to continuing to work with the families of the young people in the “pool Incident video” as well as faith leaders, activists and the McKinney Police Department to bring this situation to a justified end. Additionally, we encourage any and all community members to attend the next City Council meeting on Tuesday, July 16 to express their concern about this incident.
Oh shut up NAACP. You’re only interest is to stir up racial tensions.
Had these kids not broken the law this entire situation would never have happened much like Baltimore & Ferguson.
Ok Mr. Augustine, your astounding and impressive knowledge (or lack thereof) is certainly on display in your comment. As a matter of fact, I would have guessed that comments like yours went out of style forty or fifty years ago. However, it is obvious that you have proved that I am wrong.
But just for your information, I seem to recall some news story which stated that the initial conflict was one which was sparked by the actions of some white adult.
And even if the “kids” were at fault (as most teenagers are at some point), the officer who viciously attacked the young fourteen year old girl cannot be excused for his actions. His job is to maintain peace and protect the citizens, not to upset the peace and attack innocent children!
From what I have been able to hear, almost all the people who are trying to justify the actions of the officer are saying something like “everybody knows the police are a bunch of out of control dogs, so the children should have know better”. And if that is the logic, I simply say that I disagree. The officer should have been fired before he was allowed to resign. He should be charged with assault, official oppression, terrorism and a few other things that a good lawyer could arrange. The victims families should sue the city of Mckinny for at least a six figure sum and win. No police should ever attack the people they are supposed to protect…ever again.
The naacp needs to crawl back in the hole it came out of! It is nothing but a bunch of impotent, bigoted African-Americans. IF they were really interested they would make every effort to repair the destroyed black family, and address the rampant black on black crime! But, being what they are, it just isn’t going to happen.
OK Mr. Roan; I am sure the NAACP has done more over the years for the families of African Americans than comments like yours will ever do. However, if you are so interested in improving the lives of African Americans, why don’t you join the NAACP and work to establish programs that help people?…or does something like bigotry get in your way?…You can’t say the NAACP will not let you join because anyone can join and work for good causes. In fact a few of the founders of the NAACP were white people. Put some power behind your words.