High-ranking officials: Fort Worth officer didn't use excessive force in viral arrest
FORT WORTH -- Two high-ranking police officials who reviewed an officer’s controversial arrest of a woman and her daughters in December did not believe the officer used excessive force, a conclusion that differed from that of Chief Joel Fitzgerald, according to documents obtained by the Star-Telegram.
The Dec. 21 incident, which was captured on video and went viral on Facebook, thrust the department into the national spotlight, leading to allegations that officer William Martin, who is white, was racist toward Jacqueline Craig and her family, who are black.
Craig had called 911 to report that a neighbor, Itamar Vardi, choked her young son for littering. As the situation escalated, Martin arrested Craig on outstanding warrants and also arrested her two teenage daughters.
Video showed a noisy, chaotic scene, with Craig’s family yelling at him as he took her to the ground and handcuffed her.
Read more here: http://www.star-telegram.com/news/local/community/fort-worth/article134337414.html
