FWPD Chief: 'I Was Disappointed With The Video'
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FORT WORTH (CBSDFW.COM) - Fort Worth Police Chief Joel Fitzgerald reacted publicly to the viral video of an officer taking down a woman who called 911 because her neighbor allegedly choked her son for littering.
"I was disappointed with the video and with some of the things I heard and saw," Chief Fitzgerald said during a news conference at City Hall. "Although it disturbed me, it didn't make me feel our Internal Affairs unit or anyone in the department won't get to the bottom, and provide justice for everyone involved."
Chief Fitzgerald said the police department will not make the officer's body cam footage public during the investigation as the video is part of the investigation and there are minors in the video.
In the video, the Craig explained to the officer what happened. At some point the officer asked the her why she didn't teach her son not to litter. She responded by saying whether her child did or not, the man didn't have the right to choke him.
In the video, after the officer asked her why not, the argument escalated. The officer took the woman to the ground, handcuffed her and pointed what appears to be a taser at another woman, reported to be Craig's 19-year old daughter, Brea Hymond. Both women were detained.
The woman who shot the original cell phone video was also arrested. Jacqueline Craig and Brea Hymond were released from jail Thursday afternoon.
Fort Worth Police are still investigating the incident involving the 7-year-old boy and the neighbor.
"This is an isolated incident in Fort Worth and we are taking it very seriously," said Mayor Betsy Price.
Regarding the officer who is on restricted duty during the investigation, Chief Fitzgerald said, "I can't call it racism, but I can say the officer was rude. There's a difference between rudeness and racism."
"I was outraged by what I saw on the video," said State Representative Nicole Collier, D-Fort Worth. "Instead of actually trying to calm the situation, this police officer engaged in behavior not in line with the standard of conduct with the Fort Worth Police Department."
Here is the video of the incident shot on a cell phone:
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