Texas cop's lawyer: He was stressed by earlier calls
MCKINNEY, Texas - Eric Casebolt, the former McKinney cop seen in a now-viral video pinning a bikini-clad teenage girl to the ground and pulling a gun on unarmed teens at a pool party, was already stressed out when he got that fateful call, his lawyer said Wednesday.
Casebolt, who resigned for the police force after the video captured national attention, "allowed his emotions to get the better of him," attorney Jane Bishkin said at a press conference Wednesday afternoon.
Before receiving the call from dispatch for assistance at the pool party, Casebolt had gotten calls earlier in the day on two separate suicide cases, including one where he had to comfort a grieving widow, Bishkin said.
Bishkin was careful not to say the stress was an excuse for his actions, adding that Casebolt is "apologizing" to all involved.
On Tuesday, Casebolt submitted his resignation through his attorney. Local Fraternal Order of Police President Daniel Malenfant said he did so in the best interest of the city, hoping to calm the outrage that built after the video of the incident went viral.
Attorney Bishkin said Casebolt is not racist, as many critics have claimed, pointing to his detainment of a white female not caught on video. She said the former officer was "disgusted" at being called a racist.
National and local civil rights leaders want Casebolt to be criminally charged for his actions last week.
They said Wednesday at a news conference in the Dallas suburb of McKinney that it's not enough that he resigned. They say he needs to be charged for wrestling a black teenage girl to the ground. They did not specify what crime he should be charged with.
Casebolt's representatives said Tuesday that he has not appeared in public since news of the incident spread because of the many death threats against him. His lawyer said he and his family are currently staying in an "undisclosed location" away from his home until the danger has subsided.