US cop caught on camera wrestling black teen girl to ground at pool party

A US police officer has been suspended after being caught on a video that shows him handcuffing and physically holding down a black teenage girl at a pool party in Texas.

In the video taken by a teenage bystander and posted to YouTube on Saturday, a white police officer in McKinney is seen shouting and ordering some black teens to lie on the ground while telling others to disperse in a neighborhood pool on Friday.

He later is seen grabbing a black teenage girl by the hair and wrestling her to the ground to handcuff her.

The unnamed officer draws his gun and started to chase two other teenagers who appeared to be coming to her aid.

After the two young men fled, the officer returned to the girl, forcing her face into the ground and sitting on her in an effort to prevent her from standing up.

“McKinney Police later learned of a video that was taken at the scene by an unknown party,” said a Police Department statement.

“This video has raised concerns that are being investigated by the McKinney Police Department. At this time, one of the responding officers has been placed on administrative leave pending the outcome of this investigation.”

The statement said police responded to a “disturbance at the Craig Ranch North Community Pool” regarding “multiple juveniles at the location, who do not live in the area or have permission to be there, refusing to leave,” and that “Police received several additional calls related to this incident advising that juveniles were now actively fighting.”

It appears that the teenagers were attending a pool party that was open to the public.

The incident highlights US police excessive use of force when dealing with African-Americans.

The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) condemned the incident.

"The excessive force on an unarmed 14-year-old girl clad only in a bikini by an officer wearing a uniform and a gun was particularly troubling," said Cornell William Brooks, president of the NAACP. "These teens appeared to be simply attending a pool party and deserved respectful treatment under the law.”

"We are calling for a full investigation of the McKinney Police Department officers and that they be held accountable to the full extent of the law," Brooks said.

SB/AGB

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