Teenage girl dragged by police at pool party in 2015 getting her money AND a pool party of her own

[bigtree]

Last edited Thu Jun 21, 2018, 09:06 AM - Edit history (2)

samuel-warde.com


Dajerria Becton, who was 15 years old at the time, back in 2015, was last seen in a viral video getting wrestled to the ground by then-McKinley, Texas, Police Officer Eric Casebolt. He later resigned from the force.

Following the incident, Dajerria and her caregiver, Shashona Becton, sued the Police Department and the city of McKinney for $5 million. According to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, under the terms of the settlement, the Bectons, as well as other plaintiffs in the case, were awarded a total of $184,850 last month, with $148,850 of that amount going to Dajerria.

On Saturday her attorney, Kim T. Cole, is hosting a pool party for Dejerria to celebrate the victory as well as her high school graduation.

Cole said that her client plans to use a portion of the money to start a business and that she hopes to become a dentist.

https://www.theroot.com/mckinley-texas-girl-who-was-slammed-to-the-ground-by-1826999472?utm_source=theroot_twitter&utm_medium=socialflow

an observation of mine:

When public pools were ordered by courts to desegregate in the late '50's in Texas, many simply closed down, instead of complying with the order to admit blacks and were sold to private interests - became swimming clubs which were allowed to exclude blacks.

Moreover, the combination of access to cheap labor and materials, coupled with the desegregation order, actually sparked a boom in private, home-based pools at the time. That disparity of access to swimming pools created a wide gap in the numbers of blacks, compared to whites, who knew how to swim. It's significant that some residents in this white-majority neighborhood, which is segregated by restricted access to housing for many blacks, were so concerned about the appearance of black kids at a pool they obviously coveted as exclusive to their own race.

Interesting side note - my father traveled to Texas in the mid-seventies in his role as a civil rights officer in the EEOC to investigate discrimination in access to some public pools in that state. I recall how he took pleasure in the fact that his agency's authority was bolstered with newly approved subpoena power which he used as a persuasive lever against officials there (previously they were only able to testify in cases as 'friends of the court'). I don't know if he prevailed, or the impact of that visit, but I do remember how he spoke of the encounter with pride.

He had grown up in Reading, Pa. and did his swimming in his youth in lakes and ponds. It probably wasn't a coincidence that when we moved to the mostly segregated at the time suburb of Bethesda, Md. he chose a home with a built-in pool (as well as obtaining a membership in the neighborhood YMCA).

[mythology]

1. "Resigned" not arrested

And while getting a settlement is good, what protections are being put in place to prevent this from happening again?

[bigtree]

3. my first concern was for that child

...I'm going to spend a little moment feeling good about this outcome.

It's always a wonder to me how eager some folks are to sap the joy out of posts. Give me a minute here while you go and find the answers to your questions for us.

[BumRushDaShow]

4. "what protections are being put in place to prevent this from happening again?"

That happened 3 years ago and it has happened over and over and over and over, yearly, monthly, daily, hourly.

The "protections" have to come at the national level and it will probably take decades to happen because basically, it has gone on for centuries. Maybe if there was a "zero tolerance" law, but that is a dream world suggestion.

[BumRushDaShow]

2. Thank you for that update bigtree!

I am glad the family got some type of settlement.

[bigtree]

5. god yes

...I had forgotten all about this. No wonder.

I love what she plans to do with the money.

[BumRushDaShow]

6. I wish her luck with her aspirations

and hope she is able to hook up with a good organization to help her with those plans.

[bigtree]

7. kick