Texas cop’s pulling of gun on pool party leads to suspension, protest

The officer involved in Friday’s incident — which was recorded by a bystander and distributed widely via social media — was placed on administrative leave Sunday. In the video clip, he is seen running, chasing a crowd of teens and apparently tripping before recovering with a roll.

Later, he detained a girl, who is black and believed to be 15 years old, by roughly throwing her to the ground and forcing her to remain immobilized by apparently kneeling on her back. When other partygoers, who were also black, attempted to stop the officer, he drew his gun. Two other policemen appear to try to calm the situation — at one point seemingly encouraging the officer's arm down.

“This video has raised concerns that are being investigated,” the police department in McKinney, a city about 30 miles north of Dallas, said on Sunday.

The officer in the video — who is seen shouting obscenities at the teens — appears to be white, and most of the people targeted were black, raising questions on social media about racial bias.

“Having seen the YouTube video, I am disturbed and concerned by the incident and actions depicted in the video,” McKinney Mayor Brian Loughmiller said in a written statement Sunday.

“Our expectation as a City Council is that our police department and other departments will act professionally and with appropriate restraint relative to the situation they are faced with,” he said.

McKinney Police said officers were responding to a disturbance at a pool that is part of a residential community. Other reports said neighbors called the police after seeing a crowd of black teenagers at the pool.

With wire services