Chief: Texas officer made errors in confrontation with woman

Source: Associated Press


Updated 5:34 pm, Tuesday, June 13, 2017



FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) — A Texas police chief said Tuesday that an officer he suspended following a videotaped arrest of a woman and her daughters made multiple errors in responding to a call that a neighbor allegedly assaulted the woman's son.

Fort Worth Chief Joel Fitzgerald said during an appeal hearing for officer William Martin that Martin was disrespectful and used excessive force in his December confrontation with Jacqueline Craig and her two teenage daughters.

Cellphone video of the confrontation, which one of Craig's daughters recorded and posted to social media, was widely viewed and prompted claims of racism. The officer is white, and Craig and her daughters are black. Fitzgerald has denied that race played a role in the arrest.

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Fitzgerald said during the hearing that Martin also failed to check on Craig's 7-year-old son, who allegedly was choked by a neighbor who saw the boy litter. The neighbor was later charged with misdemeanor assault.

Read more: http://www.chron.com/news/texas/article/Chief-Texas-officer-made-errors-in-confrontation-11217050.php