McKINNEY — A police call about unwelcome teenagers at a community pool thrust this affluent suburb into the national spotlight on race and police relations Sunday.
Police Cpl. Eric Casebolt was placed on administrative leave after a video surfaced showing him pulling a 15-year-old girl to the ground and pinning her down outside a pool party Friday night in the expansive Craig Ranch subdivision. Seconds later, he pulled his gun and pointed it at two teens who appear to try to come to her aid.
The profanity-laced seven-minute video, posted to YouTube on Saturday, had been viewed more than 1 million times Sunday. It shows white police officers trying to control black teens who had scattered as officers arrived at the pool.
McKinney Mayor Brian Loughmiller said that he expects city staff and police officials to quickly conduct an investigation into the officer’s actions.
“I am disturbed and concerned by the incident and actions depicted in the video,” Loughmiller said in a written statement. “Our expectation as a City Council is that our police department and other departments will act professionally and with appropriate restraint relative to the situation they are faced with.”
McKinney Police Chief Greg Conley, who declined to say what specific behavior in the video led to the investigation, said Sunday that the officer was immediately placed on leave.
“Any time you confront a large group of people, it’s a very dynamic situation and tensions can rise very quickly,” he said.
He said three officers responded after residents and a private security officer called police to complain that several teenagers did not have permission to use the pool and had refused to leave. The homeowners association limits pool use to Craig Ranch residents and two guests per household. Several people complained that the teenagers had started fighting.
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