MCKINNEY, TX – Less than a week after the McKinney pool party video went viral, Eric Casebolt has resigned Tuesday from his post at the McKinney Police Department.
“Our policies, our training, our practice, do not support his actions,” Police Chief Greg Conley said. “He came into the call out of control, and as the video shows, was out of control during the incident.”
The seven-minute video posted to YouTube showing the police response to reports of fighting at a pool party Friday evening sparked swift allegations of racism. Critics slammed the white officer for cursing at black teenagers, slamming a 14-year-old girl in a bikini to the ground, and drawing his gun on teens who tried to come to her aid.
Casebolt had been on administrative leave as police investigated what happened. Now that he has decided to resign, the internal affairs investigation is closed, and it’s too soon to say whether he’ll face charges over what happened, Conley told reporters.
“We’re continuing an investigation. We are continuing looking into all the allegations that are being presented to us, and any part of a criminal investigation regarding anyone will take a matter of time for us to work through all those allegations and those people who have come forward to us to complain,” he said.
Even as protests mount, some witnesses have praised the way Casebolt handled the incident, as dramatically different accounts emerge of whether race played a role in the police response to the situation.
But Brandon Brooks, the 15-year-old white teen who shot the video, said there’s no doubt race was a factor.
“I was one of the only white people in the area when that was happening,” he told NewsFix Monday. “You can see in part of the video where he tells us to sit down, and he kinda like skips over me and tells all my African-American friends to go sit down.”
Brandon said the argument that drew police to the pool party didn’t even involve most of the teens Casebolt was going after.
“It was a fight between a mom and girl, which had nothing to do with all the other kids,” he said.
Despite Casebolt’s resignation, this could be just the beginning. Several parents have threatened to sue.
