McKinney, TX police officer Eric Casebolt has been placed on administrative leave after a video of the officer assaulting teenagers at a pool party, including slamming a a 15-year-old girl to the ground wearing a bikini, went viral. Casebolt, who also drew his weapon on the unarmed teens, was called to the scene because several youths were allegedly at a pool without permission and failed to leave.
1. Casebolt has worked for the police department for nearly 10 years. The Dallas Morning News reports that Casebolt joined the department in August 2005, according to the officer’s LinkedIn page. He also worked for the Texas Department of Public Safety as a highway patrol trooper from 2003-2005 and served in the U.S. Navy from 1993-2003.
2. Casebolt was named “Officer of the Year” in 2008. His duties included neighborhood patrol, community policing and crime prevention.
3. Casebolt slammed 95 pound, 15-year-old Dajerria Becton to the ground multiple times, hit her, pushed her face into the ground, pulled her hair and sat on her during the incident. The officer also hit another teen girl in the face during the altercation. A large adult male wearing a polo shirt and jean shorts stood by and did not try to intervene on the teen girls behalf.
4. Casebolt has supporters. While many have spoken out against Officer Casebolt, others are supporting his actions. The teen girl, who was assaulted by the officer, was not charged with any crime.
5. Casebolt has anger management problems. He berated, handcuffed and detained teen boys who didn’t disperse fast enough after he told them to leave the scene. He then beat up, handcuffed and detained a teen girl wearing a bikini who posed no immediate or imminent threat.
This post was written by Nsenga K. Burton, Ph.D., founder & editor-in-chief of the award-winning news blog, the Burton Wire. Follow her on Twitter @Ntellectual.
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