Texas City In Police Pool Incident Once Lauded In Survey

In this June 8, 2015 photo, a water tower with a city slogan painted across it is seen behind a housing area in McKinney, Texas. McKinney is an affluent Dallas suburb that is among the nation's fastest-growing cities, with highly regarded public schools and nationally recognized livability rankings. But a video showing a white police officer wrestling a black girl to the ground at a neighborhood pool party has renewed racial tensions in a city that only three years ago settled litigation alleging public housing segregation. (AP Photo/Ron Jenkins)

In this June 8, 2015 photo, a water tower with a city slogan painted across it is seen behind a housing area in McKinney, Texas. McKinney is an affluent Dallas suburb that is among the nation's fastest-growing cities, with highly regarded public schools and nationally recognized livability rankings. But a video showing a white police officer wrestling a black girl to the ground at a neighborhood pool party has renewed racial tensions in a city that only three years ago settled litigation alleging public housing segregation. (AP Photo/Ron Jenkins)

MCKINNEY, Texas -- The affluent Dallas suburb of McKinney is among the nation's fastest growing cities, its public schools are highly regarded and it has 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 concern about race in a city that only three years ago settled lengthy litigation alleging racial segregation in its public housing.

Officer Eric Casebolt, who is seen on video forcing a teenage girl to the ground and at one point pulling his firearm after two males rushed forward in apparent protest, resigned from the police force Tuesday. Chief Greg Conley called Casebolt's actions "indefensible," though he said the officer was not pressured to quit.

People who participated in a rally protesting the police response used the city's name in the same sentence as Baltimore and Ferguson, Missouri - where use of force by police triggered widespread protests and violence.

"If kids act up there should be a police response," Joseph Karoki said during a rally at a McKinney school this week. "But the response should reflect the action taking place."

Police were responding to a pool party that drew dozens of teenagers on the last day of school. Witnesses said some teens jumped a fence to gain access to the community pool and clashed with neighborhood residents. Video posted online showed a white woman fighting with a black girl before they were pulled apart. Other video focuses on Casebolt as he detains black teens amid a chaotic scene.

Conley said a review of the video showed that "our policies, our training and our practices do not support his actions."

Twelve officers responded to the Craig Ranch North Community Pool in an affluent area of western McKinney. "Eleven of them performed according to their training," Conley said. Casebolt did not, he said.

"He came into the call out of control and the video showed he was out of control during the incident," Conley said.

No decision has been made whether charges will be filed against Casebolt, Conley said. Charges of interfering with an officer and evading arrest against the only man arrested Friday have been dropped, Conley said. Everyone else detained was released.

Casebolt's lawyer, Jane Bishkin, declined to say where Casebolt is now and said the officer had received death threats. Bishkin said she would release more information at a news conference Wednesday.

The scrutiny over the response to the pool party is a departure from the laudatory attention McKinney has received for its quality of life.

A Time Inc. publication last year ranked the city the best place to live in America, with a median family income in excess of $96,000 and job growth projected at 13 percent. Crime is comparatively low, and like other metropolitan suburbs in Texas, McKinney has seen unprecedented expansion. Its population in 2000 was about 54,300 and has grown over the course of 15 years to approximately 155,000. About 75 percent of residents are white while nearly 11 percent are black.

However, McKinney has faced lawsuits accusing it of racial segregation in public housing. One in 2008 accused the McKinney Housing Authority of restricting federally subsidized public housing for low-income families to older neighborhoods east of U.S. 75.

The lawsuit said that in the Dallas area, 85 percent of those receiving "Section 8" housing vouchers are African-Americans. The 2000 census found McKinney's east side was where 68 percent of the city's black population lived, while neighborhoods west of U.S. 75 were 86 percent white. The lawsuit was settled in 2012 with a consent decree, which is an agreement to take specific actions without admitting guilt.

Derrick Golden, a McKinney pastor, said during a rally Monday that the city has become yet another example of a racial divide in the U.S.

"Everybody's got a long way to go," Golden said, "and McKinney's not excluded."

BY DAVID WARREN AND TERRY WALLACE - Jun 10, 1:42 AM EDTAP

---

Wallace reported from Dallas. Associated Press journalists Jill Craig in McKinney, Jamie Stengle in Dallas and Juan A. Lozano in Houston also contributed to this report.

 
 

News Sources

  • ABC
  • Access Hollywood
  • Associated Press
  • BBC
  • Bloomberg
  • Boston Globe
  • C-SPAN
  • CBS
  • Chicago Sun-Times
  • Christian Science Monitor
  • Center for Public Integrity
  • CNN
  • Congressional Quarterly
  • Democracy Now!
  • Digg
  • E! Online
  • Entertainment Weekly
  • Financial Times
  • Forbes
  • Foreign Policy
  • Fortune
  • Front Street Magazine

  • U.S. News, World News
  • Business, Politics
  • Entertainment, Sports
  • Art, Lifestyle
  • Videos And More
  • News Sources

  • Fox News
  • Google News
  • Guardian
  • Huffington Post
  • Independent
  • LA Weekly
  • Los Angeles Times
  • McClatchy
  • Mother Jones
  • National Journal
  • NBC New
  • New York Post
  • New York Times
  • Newsweek
  • Newsy
  • NPR
  • PBS NewsHour
  • People
  • Politico
  • Reuters
  • TPM
  • Washington Post
  • Thanks For Your Support!

     

    Copyright © 2024 Front Street. All Rights Reserved.

    Skip to toolbar