Teen speaks out after filming the Mckinney Pool Party incident. He recorded Officer Eric Casebolt pinning a Black Teenage Girl to the ground and pulling out his weapon on other Black Teens. The video of the incident is pretty disheartening and can be placed on the long list of incidents between Police and Blacks nationwide. It is an absolute miracle that no one got tasered or even worse, fatally shot.
The Police were allegedly called after neighbors reported fights erupting at the community pool. The party was tweeted on Twitter, which created the big turn out. What I noticed while looking at the video was that Officer Casebolt only focused on the Black teens. My question is, if there were too many people at the pool, why weren’t everyone just told to leave? If a Dance Club is over capacity, the Club gets shut down. Why not do the same in this case?
What I found difficult to watch, was the Officer being so aggressive in a minor incident. Why not wait for backup, and escort everyone off the premises, including the White Teens? A young Black Teen was pinned down and yanked by her hair because the Officer felt she wasn’t leaving fast enough. I can see her being called out for not listening to instructions, but she was unarmed and did not pose a threat. There were other Teens behind the Officer and the young girl that was on the ground pinned underneath him. When they tried to help the girl, the Officer drew his weapon. Since the incident, the Officer has resigned.
There are a lot of conflicting statements where some believe there were several fights at the pool, while the teen who filmed the incident says there was only one fight between a Mom and a Teen. The Washington Post reported that a Mother allegedly told a Black Teen to,”go back to her section 8 house.” There were statements made by neighbors that the Officer did the right thing while others believe these Teens were being racially profiled. I believe that this situation could have been handled in a more appropriate manner and was fueled by race.
Here’s the video of the interview with the Teen who filmed the incident and the video of the actual incident: