McKinney Pool Party Video Update: Texas Rangers Asked By DA To Investigate Craig Ranch Incident

The Texas Rangers were asked Monday to perform an independent investigation into the June 5 Craig Ranch pool party incident in McKinney, Texas, in which an officer was recorded violently throwing a black teenager to the ground and sitting on her, then drawing his firearm on two young men. The request was made by the Collin County district attorney to “add an important layer of transparency to the process.”

“I have full confidence in the good men and women of the McKinney Police Department and their ability to fully investigate this matter,” said Greg Willis, the county DA. “At the same time, an independent investigation of this incident will add an important layer of transparency to the process.” The Texas Rangers lead criminal investigations in the state in a number of areas, including "major incident crime investigations, unsolved crime/serial crime investigations, public corruption investigations, officer involved shooting investigations and border security operations," according to its website.

The incident in question sparked outrage once the video, which showed a party of predominantly black youths getting chased by the police from an area near a pool, surfaced online. Media outlets drew parallels between the level of violence on display from the officer toward the black partygoers but not white partygoers and a national discussion of racially oriented police violence directed against unarmed black people in the country as a whole.

The officer has since resigned from the force. His attorney offered an apology on behalf of the officer, Cpl. Eric Casebolt, at the time. Casebolt had reportedly responded to two suicide calls before the incident, experiences that may have led to him to be more aggressive than usual, his lawyer said.

Most of the teenagers attending the party reportedly had pool passes and were allowed to be on the premises. A white neighbor began yelling racial slurs at those in attendance, and the situation escalated until police arrived, the Washington Post reported.

In the wake of the incident, activists and civic leaders demanded an independent investigation, as well as an overhaul of police training and rules. Pamela J. Meanes, president of the National Bar Association, called for a national felony police law though she stressed her message was not anti-police.