For Immediate Release: June 10th, 2015
Contact: Michele Setteducato, 732-614-3818, michele@fitzgibbonmedia.com
McKinney Police Officer Eric Casebolt resigned following widespread public outrage at a video showing him brutally attacking and unjustly arresting Dajerria Becton and other Black teens at a pool party.
Rashad Robinson, Executive Director of ColorOfChange.org released the following statement:
“Officer Casebolt’s resignation is an important step in the right direction, but not enough to hold him fully accountable or shift the discriminatory and violent culture of policing that has allowed him to brutalize Black people for years.
“Within 24 hours, more than 80,000 ColorOfChange members took action to demand Collin District Attorney George Willis prosecute Officer Casebolt to the fullest extent of the law. If Officer Casebolt wasn’t a police officer, it is likely he would face criminal charges for his brutal action in a matter of hours. We won’t wait any longer for Prosecutor Willis to take definitive action to prosecute Casebolt and investigate the policies and patterns that led to this tragedy.
“As we have seen time and time again, unless violent and discriminatory officers face criminal charges, they will continue to target and harm Black communities. Police accountability is critical for transforming deeply entrenched a policing culture that say it’s okay to racially profile and brutalize Black folks. What DA Willis does in this moment will highlight where he stands on the critical issue of equal justice and accountability for those who create harm regardless of whether or not they carry a badge.
“Black people should not have to demand justice every time police abuse or kill. Yet, if there had been no video of Officer Casebolt’s violent assault and people across the country had not raised their voices to demand justice for Dajerria, Officer Casebolt would most likely still be an officer today. In addition to Officer Casebolt’s prosecution we urge Attorney General Lynch and the Department of Justice to investigate the broader issues that allow police brutality and racism in McKinney.
###
With more than 1 million members nationwide, ColorOfChange.org is the country’s largest online civil rights group.