Fort Worth

Lawyer Wants Charges Dropped, Officer Fired After Viral Video

Fort Worth police chief, mayor and other elected officials address concerns in a Friday afternoon news conference

The lawyer for a black woman who's seen on video being wrestled to the ground and arrested by a white officer says the burden is on police to prove the officer's actions weren't racially motivated. Meanwhile, the Fort Worth police chief, mayor and other elected officials promised a thorough investigation.

Attorney S. Lee Merritt said Friday police in Fort Worth and elsewhere have shown "discriminatory behavior" toward minorities.

Friday afternoon, Fort Worth Police Chief Joel Fitzgerald said he could not call what he saw racism, but says it was rude.

"There's a difference between rude and racism, and we have to make sure that what we're doing is looking at what actually happened, what the follow-up was, were the reports taken properly, what was written in the reports," said Fitzgerald.

Merritt said his client, Jacqueline Craig, isn't currently considering a federal civil rights claim against police, but she wants the officer fired.

The unidentified officer responded Wednesday after Craig complained that a neighbor had choked her son for littering.

In the video, the conversation between Craig and the officer escalates before he forces her to the ground, then arrests Craig and two of her daughters.

Fort Worth Police spokesman Sgt. Mark Povero said the officer determined that Craig had several outstanding warrants before what was seen the video and the warrants were the reason for her arrest.

Merritt says the officer never mentioned warrants in the video and said the arrest was because she annoyed him.

Video of the confrontation posted to Facebook has been viewed more than 2.5 million times as of Friday.

The family's attorneys say they have filed a police report against the neighbor. The family has been asking for action against that neighbor since the incident Wednesday.

"That's the accomplishment of the week," said Jasmine Crockett, a second attorney for the family.

She added that the family is relieved to have a report on the books and a conversation on the record with Fort Worth police.

"This particular detective has been diligent about reaching out to us, making sure that he did get this done, and it does seem like he is trying to do a thorough investigation," Crockett said.

She went on to say that the family's trust has its limits when there are still charges pending against Craig and her two teenage daughters. Craig is charged with resisting arrest and not properly identifying herself to the officer.

"What they can do today is drop the clearly felonious, baseless charges," Merritt said.

City Hall News Conference Addresses Video

Fort Worth officials held a news conference at Fort Worth City Hall Friday to address the incident that sparked the viral video.

Officials said nothing about Craig's outstanding warrants at the news conference. They had made no excuses for the video and promised a full investigation.

"In no other case have we allowed ourselves to be put in a position where someone would think or question that we would not investigate something to the fullest extent," said Chief Fitzgerald.

"Everyone in this situation deserves due process, and quite frankly, citizens deserve a little more service," he said.

But when asked if he thought the situation was racially motivated, Fitzgerald said no.

The family's attorneys disagree.

"We can say that conduct was racist. We can say that conduct was inappropriate, without calling that entire police profession inappropriate or racist, and we do believe that racism played a major factor in this case," said Merritt.

Fitzgerald said one of his concerns is that the focus wasn't on the child. When asked, he said he had no background information on the officer in the video.

Mayor Betsy Price said she was disturbed by what she saw but asked for time to investigate what she called "an isolated incident in Fort Worth." She said the situation is being taken very seriously.

"We have one of the finest police departments in the nation, a model department for community policing, but things do happen," she said. "We do have concerns about some of the actions on the video, but we ask that our citizens allow due process be carried through."

Fort Worth Congressman Marc Veasey said citizens need to have confidence in their police department.

"Just from what I saw on the video, it appeared to me that the police officer there escalated the situation and was kind of being rude and condescending to the taxpayer and citizen who called the police on to the scene, and we just can't have that, that's unnecessary," said Fort Worth Congressman Marc Veasey.

State Rep. Nicole Collier said she was outraged by what she saw on the video but asked the public to allow the process to move forward.

"I do not condone it, and it is not becoming of a police officer and it really makes the 99 percent of the remaining officers look bad," said Collier. She also called for more diversity in the police ranks.

Tarrant County Commissioner Roy Brooks called for respect for police as Chief Fitzgerald investigates the matter.

"None of us standing here, who saw that video, believes that that represents acceptable behavior," said Brooks.

Brooks said the system is working -- from citizens recording the incident, to police launching an internal affairs investigation of the incident.

Meanwhile, Fort Worth Councilwoman Kelly Allen Gray highlighted concerns about the initial call of a child being choked by a neighbor. "Please know that the original call is being investigated as well," said Gray.

All of the elected officials and the chief called for calk and time to investigate.

"One thing that we have all be assured of, that this will be a thorough investigation," said Fort Worth Councilwoman Gyna Bivens.

The neighbor involved still has not been identified. The family's attorneys are asking he be charged with causing injury to a child.

Fort Worth police say there are contradicting reports about what actually happened to the boy and they are still investigating.

The officer was wearing a body camera throughout the incident. Fitzgerald says that video will be a big part of the investigation, but that it cannot be released under state law because this case involves minors.

He was adamant that the department is not holding back, nor brushing anything under the rug but says their hands are tied about the video. He is promising a full investigation.

NBC 5's Ken Kalthoff and Alice Barr contributed to this report.

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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