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McKinney Pool Party Police Officer In Hiding Due To Death Threats

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A lawyer for the Texas police officer who resigned after a video emerged of him wrestling a teenage girl to the ground and pulling a gun at a pool party said the officer and his family have fled their home because of death threats.

The officer in question, Eric Casebolt, had his attorney speak to reporters at a press conference Wednesday. The attorney said Casebolt is “disgusted” by claims that he is a racist and did not attend the conference because of the death threats against him and his family.

The attorney, Jane Bishkin, also said Casebolt apologizes for his behavior and said his emotions got the best of him. At the same time, she defended him, saying he detained a white girl that was not caught on tape and that he was emotional because he had just responded to two suicide calls.

The attorney said Casebolt thought the attendees could be assault suspects.

The resignation came as protesters flooded the streets, many of them calling for Casebolt’s resignation.

“As chief of police, I want to say to our community that the actions of Casebolt as seen on the video of the disturbance at the community pool are indefensible,” McKinney Chief of Police Greg Conley said in a press conference. “Our policies, our training, our practice, do not support his actions. He came into the call out of control, and as the video shows was out of control during the incident.”

The firestorm began when police responded to a pool party that had gotten out of hand. Some teenagers had snuck into a pool, prompting locals to call the police.

White officers showed up and the mostly black attendees scattered. That’s when officer Casebolt began screaming and chasing them around, handcuffing some and eventually wrestling a teenage girl to the ground as she cried out. He then pulled a gun on two young men.

The incident was caught on video and quickly circulated, causing outrage online fueled partially by the video’s filmer claiming race was in play.

McKinney police have said they are investigating the incident.

Here’s the video that caused the resignation.

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