The white McKinney, Texas, police officer who was suspended after video surfaced of him pulling a gun on a group of black teens and shoving one bikini-clad girl face-down on the ground last weekend resigned on Tuesday. Officer David Eric Casebolt, a ten-year veteran of the department, stepped down voluntarily, according to his attorney. He’s staying at an undisclosed location after the incident sparked massive protests and he received death threats.
The department had launched an internal investigation, but Police Chief Greg Conley said at a press conference that Casebolt hadn’t been pressured to resign. Casebolt will keep his pension and benefits, but the incident is still under investigation and he could face criminal charges. The case against 18-year-old Adrian Martin, the one person arrested on Saturday, has been dropped.
Conley called Casebolt’s actions “indefensible” and noted that of the 12 officers who responded to reports of a fight at the Craig Ranch North Community Pool, “Eleven of them performed according to their training.” As for Casebolt, “He came into the call out of control and the video showed he was out of control during the incident,” Conley said.
Casebolt has offered no apology, and his resignation letter consisted of two words: “I resign.”
Ladariene McKever, a 15-year-old who attended the party, told the Dallas Morning News that she’s glad Casebolt is off the force, but she’s worried he might join another department, and she found his parting words insensitive. “He should apologize to the girl he manhandled,” she said. “He should apologize to my friend he pushed in the face. He should apologize to the boys he handcuffed for no reason. We didn’t do anything wrong.”
