National
Pool Party Confrontation Thrusts McKinney into Spotlight On Police and Race Relations
Cpl. Eric Becton forces Dajerria Becton, 15, to the ground after responding to a disturbance call. (Screengrab via Youtube)
Tasha Tsiaperas and Claire Z. Cardona, THE DALLAS MORNING NEWS
McKINNEY (The Dallas Morning News) — A call to police about unwelcome teenagers at a community pool thrust this affluent suburb into the national spotlight on race and police relations Sunday.
Police Cpl. Eric Casebolt was placed on administrative leave after a video surfaced showing him pulling a 15-year-old girl to the ground and pinning her down outside a pool party Friday night in the expansive Craig Ranch subdivision. Seconds later, he pulled his gun and pointed it at two teens who appear to try to come to her aid.
The profanity-laced seven-minute video, posted to YouTube on Saturday, had been viewed more than 4 million times by Monday. It shows white police officers trying to control black teens who had scattered as officers arrived in the neighborhood.
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