Officer resigns amid differing narratives of Texas pool clash
Four days after a tense confrontation between police and teenagers at a suburban Dallas swimming pool was caught on camera, the story emerging from the master-planned community follows two main narratives.
On one side are those who feel that the sevenminute video, recorded Friday in McKinney, Texas, documents a textbook example of white police harassing young AfricanAmericans and administering a level of force so excessive that it quickly spins a harmless gathering wildly out of control.
On the other side are those who believe the viral video that has sparked considerable outrage captures the thankless rigor of police work as a group of overwhelmed officers struggle to keep an unruly mob of interloping youngsters under control.
The police officer seen drawing his gun in the video has left the police force. Officer David Eric Casebolt resigned Tuesday from the McKinney Police Department after almost 10 years on the force. His resignation was confirmed by his attorney, Jane Bishkin of Dallas, The Associated Press reported.
The discussion over the incident has turned the quiet bedroom community about 40 miles north of Dallas into the latest staging ground for an ongoing and increasingly high-decibel debate about race and police brutality in America.
OnMonday, according to the AP, that debate spilled into the streets of McKinney as hundreds of protesters marched peacefully through the city of 150,000, calling for the firing of Casebolt.
The marchers, some of whom had signs that said “my skin color is not a crime,” began at a school and ended at the Craig Ranch North Community Pool, where the confrontation occurred.
Dominique Alexander, a Dallas activist who helped organize Monday’s march, told The Dallas Morning News that the incident was “definitely a racially motivated thing” and said Casebolt “acted like he was a wild animal, just running around.”
While protesters took to the streets, a counternarrative was gaining traction, particularly on Facebook, where posts by several residents of the community circulated widely.
In one post, resident Michael Quattrin disputed that race played a factor in what happened.
According to Quattrin, a DJ had set up shop near the pool and had been playing music for hours. He claimed that teens began “fighting with each other and pushing their way into our private pool.”
“Some were jumping our fence,” he wrote. “The security guard was accosted when he tried to stop the beginnings of this mob scene. Some residents who live around the park/pool area tried to come out and settle things down.”
Quattrin, who did not respond to requests for comment, added in his post: “This was a very dangerous situation for the officers AND the teens/ residents not involved.”
As the public argues over its own conclusions, an official investigation is underway, according to McKinney police Chief Greg Conley.
“I ask that all persons be patient and respect the investigative process,” Conley said Sunday.