A McKinney, Texas police officer has been suspended pending review after the posting of a videotape where he draws his gun and manhandles a group of teenagers outside of a pool party. The officer has been identified as Cpl. Eric Casebolt and he is shown being verbally and physically abusive toward young people who are not clearly doing anything unlawful.
The pulling out of the gun is a rapid escalation in a call over a dispute between a mother and a girl at the party. The McKinney Police Department’s Facebook page states that officers responded to a “disturbance” at the Craig Ranch North community pool at 7:15 p.m. It added that the juveniles at the scene “do not live in the area or have permission to be there.” It further says that people failed to respond to orders and officers struggled to “gain control of the situation.”
Casebolt,40, is a 10-year-veteran and serves as a vice president of McKinney’s police union. He received an award for “Patrolman of the Year” in 2008. The Washington Post reports that he is an instructor at Executive Self-Defense and Fitness and has a website that heralds his “ strong working knowledge of human behavior” and “experience in the use of all levels of force.” As is often the case, people have collected various pictures of Casebolt though the one dressed as an Indian chief at a party seems to be the favorite. That is part of the reality of the world of social media today.
Do you consider this level of force to be justified?
Just read an article by abc which explained that the officer involved in this incident is now living in a undisclosed location, along with his family. He has decided to remain, in seclusion, until the DEATH THREATS subside. Yes, folks, DEATH THREATS, against both him and his family. Wonder how it feels, for all of you on here who were salivating to have his head before a full and complete investigation could transpire? How does it feel to be part of the mob frenzy, which fueled the DAILY death threats, yes ,DAILY death threats, against the officer and his family? I previously mentioned that the officer’s resignation was done to save his life and the lives of his family members. Easy one to call. You don’t have to be Einstein to see that one coming. Funny, my comment, that this resignation and the Chief’s public denunciation were happening in effort to calm the restless mobs and quell the potential looting, burning and destruction of McKinney, was met with derision by the all-knowing wadewilliams. Wonder how crow tastes?
What the Aztec priests were referring to was a central Mesoamerican belief: that a great, on-going sacrifice sustains the Universe. Everything is tonacayotl: the “spiritual flesh-hood” on earth. Everything —earth, crops, moon, stars and people— springs from the severed or buried bodies, fingers, blood or the heads of the sacrificed gods. Humanity itself is macehualli, “those deserved and brought back to life through penance”.[9] A strong sense of indebtedness was connected with this world view. Indeed, nextlahualli (debt-payment) was a commonly used metaphor for human sacrifice, and, as Bernardino de Sahagún reported, it was said that the victim was someone who “gave his service”.
Human sacrifice was in this sense the highest level of an entire panoply of offerings through which the Aztecs sought to repay their debt to the gods. Both Sahagún and Toribio de Benavente (also called “Motolinía”) observed that the Aztecs gladly parted with everything: burying, smashing, sinking, slaying vast quantities of quail, rabbits, dogs, feathers, flowers, insects, beans, grains, paper, rubber and treasures as sacrifices. Even the “stage” for human sacrifice, the massive temple-pyramids, was an offering mound: crammed with treasures, grains, soil and human and animal sacrifices that were buried as gifts to the deities. Adorned with the land’s finest art, treasure and victims, these temples had become buried offerings under new structures every half a century
(From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)
Paul C. Schulte
1, June 9, 2015 at 8:37 pm
“Squeeky – high props to the kids in the video who did what they were supposed to, sit down and stay there. They seemed very polite. The problem was the twit in the orange bikini.”
Squeeky Fromm, Girl Reporter
1, June 9, 2015 at 8:46 pm
“@PaulCS
“True. But she is blaaaack! So therefore, we must not judge her by her behavior, but by her color. “According to the liberal bigots here.”
Yes, the Brooks video the McKinney police chief watched and acted upon offers conclusive evidence of the misconduct of an uppity black teenaged “twit”, but the same video doesn’t begin to offer persuasive evidence that the beefy middle-aged Caucasian male in question grabbed her by the hair, threw her to the ground face-down, and put his full weight on her with his knees in her back for that uppity behavior?
If this isn’t evidence that authoritarianism and racial bigotry are manifestations of serious cognitive deficit, what would be?
Here’s a good article that describes the two different types of law enforcement that was seen in McKinney – the Guardian and the Warrior:
http://talkingpointsmemo.com/cafe/two-mckinney-cops-former-police-officer-guardian-warrior
Here is an excerpt:
“The two officers in this brief video represent two different policing styles, two different mindsets that officers use as they interact with civilians: the Guardian and the Warrior. As a former police officer and current policing scholar, I know that an officer’s mindset has tremendous impact on police/civilian encounters. I’ve described the Guardian and Warrior mindsets at some length here and here; for now, suffice to say that the right mindset can de-escalate tense situations, induce compliance, and increase community trust over the long-term. The kids interacting with the first officer were excited, but not upset; they remained cooperative. Had they gone home at that moment, they’d have a story for their friends and family, but it would be a story that happened to have the police in it rather than being a story about the police.
The wrong mindset, on the other hand, can exacerbate a tense encounter, produce resistance, and lead to entirely avoidable violence. It can, and has, caused longterm damage to police/community relations. We shouldn’t be surprised that the kids Corporal Casebolt was yelling at weren’t eager to do what he was ordering them to do—no one likes being cursed at and disrespected in front of their peers, and people of all ages, especially teenagers, resent being treated unjustly. That resentment can lead to resistance, and Police Warriors—taught to exercise unquestioned command over a scene—overcome resistance by using force.”
Law enforcement is mostly very complicated – most especially since there are so many guns in this country. But McKinney is a damn good example of a situation that could have had a much better outcome if Casebolt had simply been a Guardian and not a Warrior.
Darren smith
Is Wall Street and our Capitol known as a “high crime area”?
“Yep, she is the one who gave the order to go to that corner and start arresting people a few weeks prior to the arrest. Then, she acted like the police had no business grabbing Gray!”
Tell me again why this is noteworthy?
Prosecutors don’t really give orders to round up the usual suspects or everyone in sight – right?
The most a prosecutor might do is request enhanced police activity in a particular neighborhood – right. The stops, frisks and arrests still have to meet the usual legal standards – right?
So maybe the prosecutor got it wrong. Or maybe the police really did grab the guy without sufficient legal cause. The prosecutors request for enhanced policing has nothing to do with that?
Or maybe you and Megyn want to argue that somehow the prosecutors request caused the police to make a mistake – how does that argument work?
@PaulCS
Yes, she filed in the wrong court. I think something is going on, too. Mosby’s husband’s district is also the same one where Freddie Gray was nabbed. I expect more to develop.
Back on McKinney, here is a black guy’s take on the situation. I am not sure I agree with his assessment that Casebolt should be fired, but the all in all he’s worth listening to:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qxVr4O68ofk
Squeeky Fromm
Girl Reporter
OMG!!! I just heard on FOXNews’ Megyn Kelly’s show that Mosby, the prosecutor, had directed the police to enhance their drug and narcotics arrests in the exact area where Freddie Gray was picked up. Yep, she is the one who gave the order to go to that corner and start arresting people a few weeks prior to the arrest. Then, she acted like the police had no business grabbing Gray!
Squeeky Fromm
Girl Reporter
Squeeky – I read that the judge refused to seal the evidence in the Gray case. If Mosby is asking for all the evidence to be sealed, something is screwy.
In this case the facts did not require an element of a high crime area to perform an investigative detention of the men/boys that were detained in the area of the street as permitted under the Terry doctrine. A Terry stop permits law enforcement agents to detain people upon reasonable suspicion of their involvement crime occurring, about to occur or has occurred, whatever that crime may be.
@barkindog
Heck, if they banned the “N” word, nobody could ever post a rap song here. Or excerpts from Huckleberry Finn. Plus, nowadays the “N” word is only bad if white people use it. Sooo, if the word was banned, could black commenters here use it??? Or what if there was a story on Tom Hank’s kid, who thinks it is an OK word for everybody. Nothing is simple in PC world.
Squeeky Fromm
Girl Reporter
To hell with McKinney.
Let’s burn down all the cities.
That’s where all the real evildoers reside!
Follow the guy with the Kreskin bonnet. He knows the way!
Barney Fife on steroids.
bigmike
The tuck and roll was one for the books. What the heck was he trying to prove?
The behavior of the other officers provides a perfect example of just how unprofessionally Casebolt acquitted himself. Those officers deserve recognition for a job well done.
It would have been okay with me if Casebolt had stayed on the force. I count it a real plus that no one was shot. A couple of months suspension WITHOUT pay and solid retraining would be fine.
Peace and reconciliation are important to me.
Seems like some here are happier with a martyr.
When I watched the video I counted two cops. Did anyone count 12?
The N word is uncivil. I saw it in at least one comment above up there. I would like to see it banned from the blog. Everything in moderation. God made rifles for a reason. What is wrong with that? I happen to believe in the Second Amendment. The Right To Arm Bears is sacred.
BarkinDog – bears are dangerous enough, for God’s sake don’t arm them!!!
The Chief’s comments on TV were quite good. The kids who were interviewed were quite articulate. Texas has a POST system. That means that the guy who resigns under this situation should have a synopsis of the case on his POST record so that another department does not hire him without knowing he is a menace. We need an official national data base of bad cops fired for use of excessive force or other crimes or issues. This cop could be coming to a town near you. As a deputy.
http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Illinois_v._Wardlow
Meanwhile, the inner cities of this country are ruled by thugs who can’t read. Good families in inner cities have to hide in their homes, not from cops, but from thugs. Drugs, ignorance, depravity, out of wedlock kids, and this is all in monopolistic Dem cities, ruled exclusively by Dems for generations.
@PaulCS
IMHO, if bikini gal was white, this would never have been a national story.
Squeeky Fromm
Girl Reporter
Squeeky – for sure if bikini girl were white no white minister would have stood up for her.
http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1269169
Terry Stop and High Crime area.