Monday, June 08, 2015

McKinney Police Pool Party Video: Officer Who Shoved, Handcuffed Teenagers In Dallas-Fort Worth Community Is Suspended
By Aaron Morrison @aaronlmorrison
June 07 2015 10:45 AM EDT

Watch this video of the police abuse of African American youth:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?t=10&v=R46-XTqXkzE

A police car is pictured outside of the Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport. A police officer in nearby McKinney, Texas, was suspended Saturday after a video surfaced showing the officer shoving and yelling profanities at teenagers attending a pool party. Reuters/Jeff Mitchell
This story has been updated.

UPDATE 3:15 p.m. EDT: McKinney police Chief Greg Conley on Sunday said the young woman shoved and taken to the ground by a police officer had been "temporarily detained," following a reported disturbance at a community swimming pool on Friday and released. The young woman and others who were handcuffed as police broke up a pool party at Craig Ranch North Community Pool were released to "parents or responsible guardians," the chief said in a news conference about the incident that was caught on video.

"The McKinney Police department is committed to treating all persons fairly under the law," Conley said, promising that the investigation into the incident would be "complete and thorough." Conley said the department would also review its training policies on how officers control crowds.

"Anytime you confront a large group of people, it’s a very dynamic situation and tensions can rise very quickly," he said. Officials did not release the name of the now-suspended officer, who is seen in the video wrestling the young woman to the ground. They also did not divulge how long the officer had been with the department.

Conley said there were no injuries reported during the incident.

Original story below.

A police officer in the Dallas-Fort Worth area was suspended after a video surfaced that shows him cursing at and shoving teenagers at a pool party Friday. McKinney (Texas) Police Department officers reportedly broke up the party that evening, following a fight near the Craig Ranch North Community Pool, according the person who shot the video.

That person told a KDFW-TV reporter police arrived on the scene and handcuffed several party attendees, including some who were not participants in the fight. A police official said multiple people in the vicinity of the pool did not have permission to be there and refused to leave or obey police commands.

At about the three-minute mark in the video, an officer shoves and wrestles to the ground a young woman wearing a two-piece bathing suit. At one point, the officer also sits on her back. Officials also said the officer's conduct had "raised concerns."

The McKinney police officer in question has been placed on administrative leave pending an investigation, police representative Sabrina Boston said.  The name of the officer had not yet been released. Police said they learned of the online video after it was uploaded to YouTube Saturday.

An initial caller reported a disturbance to police Friday at about 7:15 p.m. local time (8:15 p.m. EDT). Several other callers called to report teens actively fighting near the pool. Nine McKinney police units were sent to the scene, Boston said. The video shows several people running away when officers arrived on the scene. Some of the officers gave chase to the runners.

In the video, the now-suspended officer is seen commanding some teens to sit on the ground and shoving others. Police eventually got the situation under control, Boston said. She did not indicate whether arrests were made.

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