2015 Texas Pool Party Incident

Overview

McKinney Pool Party Incident refers to a physical altercation between police officers and a group of teenagers that took place at a pool party at a private residential subdivision in McKinney, Texas in early June 2015. The incident garnered nationwide attention in the news media after a video clip of an officer on the scene forcing a black teenage girl to the ground and brandishing his firearm at a group of unarmed black teenage boys began circulating online, which ultimately prompted the launch of an official investigation and resignation of the officer.

Background

On June 5th, 2015, police officers were called to the Craig Ranch North Community Pool in McKinney, Texas by residents reporting multiple juveniles at the location who refused to leave the area and were fighting with adults. The following day, YouTuber Brandon Brooks uploaded video footage of the incident in which police officer David Eric Casebolt is shown throwing a black teenage girl to the ground (shown below), later identified as 15-year-old Dajerria Becton. After subduing the girl, Casebolt is shown drawing his firearm on a group of black teenage boys who approach him from behind. In 48 hours, the video gained over five million views and 16,000 comments.

Notable Developments

Official Response

On June 7th, the McKinney Police Department^[6] posted a status update about the incident on Facebook, noting that "a video has raised concerns that are being investigated" and that one of the responding officers had been placed on administrative leave. On June 9th, the same day Casebolt resigned from the department, McKinney Police Chief Greg Conley stated that the officers' actions were "out of control" and "indefensible."

News Media Coverage

Shortly after the video recording took off on YouTube, the pool party incident was picked up by local and national news outlets in the following days, including the New York Times^[7], Washington Post^[8] and Reuters^[9], among others. Coming on the heels of a string of police violence against unarmed black citizens, the police officers' actions were largely criticized as disturbing and excessive use of force. On June 7th, Dallas news station Fox 4 reporter Zahid Arab^[5] tweeted a promotional image for the pool party that had circulated on social media in the days leading up to it (shown below), counting the claims of the homeowners in the neighborhood that "none of the nearly 70 people were allowed to be there."

On June 8th, several news outlets^[17][18] reported that Casebolt, along with other officers of Mckinney Police Department, had been previously sued in a federal criminal case for racial profiling, harassment, failure to render aid and sexual assault of a motorist during a traffic stop in April 2007, citing court records filed by the complainant, who was subsequently arrested and convicted of drug possessions.^[19]

Additional Footage Released

On June 7th, Revolution News tweeted a video of teenagers fighting adult women in the street of the subdivision, claiming that racist comments led to the escalating violence (shown below).

That same day, YouTuber E Johnson Photo uploaded an interview with McKinney subdivision resident Tatiana Rhodes, who said the adult women in the video told them to "go back to your section 8 home" (shown below).

Online Reaction

Also on June 7th, Facebook user Benét Embry,^[3] a man who resides in the McKinney subdivision, submitted a post on Facebook claiming that the incident was not racially charged and was caused by a group of uninvited teenagers harassing residents and damaging property (shown below).

Meanwhile, Redditor gratefulstringcheese submitted an article about the incident to the /r/news^[2] subreddit and Redditor samus1225 posted the video to /r/Bad_Cop_No_Donut,^[4] where they received more than 5,100 votes and 990 votes in the first 24 hours, respectively. On June 8th, an estimated number of 800 demonstrators marched through McKinney, demanding the police department to fire officer Eric Casebolt for his actions.

Impact

Investigation

In addition to the McKinney Police Department's internal investigation, the Collin County District Attorney's Office called on the Texas Ranger Division to conduct an independent investigation a week after the incident took place. On January 11th, 2016, the Texas Rangers submitted the investigative findings to the district attorney’s office for consideration; the nature of their recommendation was never disclosed to the public. On June 23rd, 2016, the officer was cleared of criminal charges after a grand jury of Collin County declined to indict him.

Civil Lawsuit

On September 23rd, 2016, Dallas Morning News^[20] reported that an attorney representing Dajerria Becton, the teenager who was slammed to the ground by Casebolt, had proposed the city for a $2.5 million out-of-court settlement for 'social damages' in June, which was declined by McKinney. In December 2016, Becton's legal guardian filed a criminal complaint against Casebolt for violating her constitutional rights by using excessive force and holding her without probable cause, as well as the city of McKinney and the police department for failing to properly train its law enforcement officers. According to the court records, the federal lawsuit seeks $5 million in damages.

In response to the allegations, the city officials of McKinney readily denied the charges in a prepared statement:

"The City of McKinney denies the claims alleged against it and the McKinney Police Department, and as such, will vigorously defend the recently filed lawsuit," the statement reads. "McKinney prides itself in cultivating the highest standards of training and professionalism for our officers, and it strongly believes that its standards and training will withstand legal challenge."

Search Interest

External References