Cop Suspended After Video Emerges of Brutal Pool Party Arrests

A police officer from McKinney, Texas has been suspended after video emerged of him pulling a black teenage girl to the ground by her hair.

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Complex Original

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A police officer in McKinney, Texas has been suspended after video was uploaded to YouTube on Saturday of the officer yelling and arresting teenagers who were reportedly having a birthday party at a community pool.

The video, uploaded by YouTube user Brandon Brooks, shows one police officer pulling black teenagers to the ground and yelling, "I told you to stay! Get your asses down on the ground." The officer handcuffs a few of the kids, while  one of them can be heard saying that they were just there for a birthday party. 

In a disturbing part of the video, the police officer yells at a group of black teenage girls to "stop running their mouths" and leave the area—the video shows the girls walking away, but then the officer goes after one of them, grabs her by the hair and neck, and shoves her to the ground. The cop keeps hers down with a knee on her back, and then pulls his gun out on two young boys who had run over to help.

According to a police statement via Facebook, "first responding" officers were responding to multiple calls that a fight had reportedly broken out at the Craig Ranch North Community pool. The description for YouTube video of the arrests says that the fight occurred between a girl and her mother, although the McKinney Police Department's Facebook post states that "juveniles were now actively fighting."

BuzzFeed News spoke to Brooks, who uploaded the video to YouTube on Saturday. He said that the kids who were at the pool were celebrating the end of the school year, and using guest passes.

"I think a bunch of white parents were angry that a bunch of black kids who don't live in the neighborhood were in the pool," said Brooks. "Everyone who was getting put on the ground was black, Mexican, Arabic. [The cop] didn't even look at me. It was kind of like I was invisible." Brooks is a white 15-year-old.

The McKinney Police Department gave this description of the events on Facebook:

First responding officers encountered a large crowd that refused to comply with police commands. Nine additional units responded to the scene. Officers were eventually able to gain control of the situation.



McKinney Police later learned of a video that was taken at the scene by an unknown party. This video has raised concerns that are being investigated by the McKinney Police Department. At this time, one of the responding officers has been placed on administrative leave pending the outcome of this investigation.

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