- Police officer fired for excessive force during pool incident involving Black family
- Department says interfering with or assaulting officers will not be tolerated
- Civil rights advocates call for full release of body cam footage to address larger issues
A Royse City, Texas, police officer has officially lost his badge after a chaotic neighborhood pool encounter turned into the kind of viral footage that makes people wonder what exactly is being taught at the police academy. According to NBC 5 DFW, the officer was fired following an internal investigation into his use of force during an Aug. 3 confrontation at a Creekside community pool.
The incident involved a Black family and multiple officers responding to what police described as a disturbance involving an older couple and the family at the pool. Then things escalated quickly. Video circulating online shows officers wrestling with people, pushing a woman who was holding a child and, most notably, one officer grabbing a woman by her hair and pulling her to the ground. Another young woman was also seen being struck in the face during the confrontation.
Even the police department couldn’t look at what happened and pretend everything was above board. Internal Affairs determined that the fired officer violated department standards, policies and procedures.
“The Royse City Police Department will not condone misconduct by any member of the police department and will take appropriate action when misconduct occurs,” the department said Monday. “The Police Department also believes that the referring of criminal charges against the suspects involved in this incident should send a clear message that interfering with a police officer or assaulting a police officer in the performance of his/her duty will not be tolerated. Those who choose to engage in such criminal behavior will be held accountable for their actions.”
Despite the fact that the department took the cowardly route and did not publicly release the officer’s name, he has been identified by CBS Texas as Robert Crider. He had been placed on administrative leave while the investigation was underway and is now out of a job. The department said the actions of three other officers involved were justified.
Meanwhile, one of the people arrested during the confrontation, an 18-year-old woman, will not face charges. However, police intend to refer the case of a 35-year-old woman to the Collin County District Attorney’s Office for alleged interference with public duties and resisting arrest. Police are also investigating another person accused of striking an officer.
Civil rights advocates aren’t exactly popping champagne over the firing. The Next Generation Action Network says termination is a step toward accountability, but it’s demanding the full release of body and dash camera footage. The family’s attorney has also called for further scrutiny of the officer’s conduct.
“The firing is a step in the right direction. However, one officer’s termination does not undo what the Wheeler family endured, and it does not answer the larger questions about why this was allowed to happen. We intend to see those questions answered.”
It would be nice if we could say that this officer will never wear a badge and carry a gun ever again, but we’ve seen too many instances where bad cops get another chance to show just how bad they are…
