“A white police officer in McKinney, Tex., has been suspended after a shocking video emerged Saturday that shows the officer manhandling, arresting and drawing his gun on a group of black children outside a pool party,” the Washington Post reports. The video also shows the cop using profanity like “get your ass out of here” to the kids.
The suspended cop is vice president of the local police union, and moonlights as a self-defense and martial arts instructor who claims to have “a strong working knowledge of human behavior” and “experience in the use of all levels of force.”
The incident occurred at Craig Ranch North, an upscale residential development north of Dallas. The police department has issued a statement saying the black children “do not live in the area or have permission to be there,” without mentioning their race, which appears to have been a major factor in the incident. According to the Washington Post, “The incident began when adults at the pool told the black children to leave the area and return to Section 8 [public] housing.”
Meanwhile, the white bystander (who was treated politely by the white cops) who later uploaded the video to You Tube posted the following description: “A fight between a mom and a girl broke out and when the cops showed up everyone ran, including the people who didn’t do anything. So the cops just started putting everyone on the ground and in handcuffs for no reason. This kind of force is uncalled for especially on children and innocent bystanders.”
Sure sounds to me like the white cops profiled the black kids. It also looks to me like it was the cops (one in particular) who were out of control.
Updates: After the incident, someone posted a sign at the pool saying, “Thank you McKinney Police for keeping us safe.” Meanwhile, the Atlantic has published a story about America’s history of segregated swimming pools here.