A police officer in Fort Worth, Texas, has been suspended for 10 days after an inquiry into his forceful arrest of a woman and her two daughters in December.
The arrest was recorded and streamed live on Facebook, as The Two-Way reported at the time:
“The events unfolded in southwest Fort Worth, where Jacqueline Craig called police to say a man had grabbed and choked her 7-year-old son after accusing him of littering. But after an officer responded to the call, the two engaged in a heated argument as bystanders, including Craig’s relatives, looked on.
“In the nearly 6-minute video that’s now been viewed some 2.5 million times on Facebook, the responding officer is seen questioning Craig, as she says the man should have spoken to her about her son. The video was posted by Porsha Craver, Craig’s niece who used a smartphone to film a screen showing the original footage — and who offers her own comments about the police encounter.”
Immediately after the incident, the officer in the video was “placed on restricted duty status by the Chief of Police” pending the outcome of an Internal Affairs investigation, the Fort Worth Police Department said.
The Fort Worth Star-Telegram reported that the officer, William Martin was “contrite” and “sorry” about the incident, according to police Chief Joel Fitzgerald, who called the suspension “significant punishment” during a news conference Monday.
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SOURCE: NPR, Rebecca Hersher
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