Texas Police Officer on Leave After Video Surfaces of Officer Pulling His Gun on Teenagers
The Dallas Morning News is reporting that a McKinney police officer has been placed on administrative leave after an altercation was caught on video Friday night.
On Friday night, police responded to a complaint call regarding a group of teenagers that were using a subdivision pool in McKinney.
According to the complaint, the group of teens did not have permission to be at the pool and refused to leave. The pool is meant for residents of that subdivision.
Other callers to the police reportedly complained that the teens were fighting, and by the time officers responded to the pool they found a large crowd of teenagers.
During a press conference on the matter on Saturday some parents complained that the police "seemed to only target black" teenagers. Some complained of racism by the police in a city that is 75 percent white.
The Dallas Morning News described a chaotic scene at the pool party.
In the video, the officer can be heard yelling, “On your face,” as he pushed the girl to the ground. As he leans on the girl, he points to others standing nearby and yells, “Get out of here, or you’re going to jail.” The incident can be seen around the 3 minute mark of the profanity-laced video.
At one point, the cop turns on two black teenagers and pulls out what appears to be a gun, pointing it at them. Two other officers intervene before the officer turns back to the teenage girl. He is also seen pulling her hair.
The video also shows several teenagers sitting on the grass with their hands cuffed behind their backs while the officer pushed the girl to the ground. Conley said the 14-year-old girl was released to her parents. No other teenagers were arrested. One adult, who was not identified, was arrested for interfering in the police investigation, Conley said.
I've watched the video and I think a few things need to be pointed out.
First, the video shows police arriving to a very chaotic scene. Teenagers are running from police as officers are ordering them to sit down.
Second, officers are seen attempting to get control of the situation so they can figure out what the facts are.
Third, the officer in question repeatedly tells the teenagers (including black teens) to leave the area.
Fourth, the officer in question does put the girl down on the ground by grabbing the back of her head. She refuses to do what she is told by the officer.
While the officer is attempting to get the girl under control, two males enter the video and appear ready to fight the officer. One of the males grabs the side of his pants. The officer probably saw that move as a threat, and I can't blame him. Once he notices that there is no weapon, he aims the gun down. The males run away but are chased by other officers.
Finally, at the end of the video the officer in question is lecturing two young teenage boys who admit they ran when told to stop and sit. The officer tells them why they are in trouble and why they shouldn't run when told to stop.
You can watch the video below. Warning, there is some bad language used. After you watch the video, tell me what you think.