Eric Casebolt no longer patrols the streets of McKinney, Texas, on behalf of the McKinney Police Department.
He quit today, just a few days after being video recorded roughing up a 14-year-old bikini-clad girl in a disturbance that erupted from a pool party.
http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/texas-officer-seen-in-viral-video-has-resigned-police-chief/ar-BBkTiMU
How does a pool party melee become cause for someone to give up a career for which he once was cited for excellence? It’s because the officer overreacted to the max when the kids didn’t do as he instructed him. His muscling of the girl to the ground was bad enough; then he drew his service pistol out on unarmed boys who had joined the ruckus.
Oh yes. Most of the kids are black; the officer is white.
One blogger, writing for the Dallas Morning News, wondered if such an incident would have occurred had the girl been a “blue-eyed blonde.”
Does this end the episode? Probably not. Casebolt likely won’t be prosecuted for any crime, as no one was injured in the disturbance. However, the eyes of the community will be focused sharply on how officers react in the future.
Let us chalk up yet another incidentĀ — and add it to the list of reasonsĀ local policeĀ must build trust in the communities they swear to “protect and serve.”