White Texas police officer suspended after arrest of mother and daughter

(EURweb.com) — The white Texas police officer who was seen on video arresting a Black mother and daughter over an argument about a child littering has been suspended for 10 days without pay, authorities announced January 9.

Fort Worth Police opened an internal investigation after video of the arrest went viral late last month and sparked backlash. The officer was shown questioning the parenting skills of 46-year-old Jacqueline Craig after she called police about a white neighbor she says choked her seven-year-old son.

She said her son allegedly threw paper on the ground and refused to pick it up, prompting the neighbor’s violent reaction. The officer says to Craig, “Why don’t you teach your son not to litter?”

As the woman’s frustration over his line of questioning grew, the officer threatened force and eventually took the mother to the ground. A daughter of the woman was also taken into custody after she stepped between them in an attempt to calm her mother down.

The police officer, who authorities identified as Officer William Martin, had been put on “restricted status duty” until last Monday when officials concluded their probe.

“Officer Martin was contrite. He’s ready to get back to work. He’s very sorry for what has transpired,” Fort Worth Police Chief Joel Fitzgerald said Monday at a news conference. Fitzgerald added that the incident was an “isolated” one and said he felt the suspension was a “significant punishment.”

An internal affairs investigation found Martin showed “discourtesy” and had “inappropriate contact” with at least one of the women he arrested, Fitzgerald said. The police chief said the officer will undergo training and return to patrolling the same neighborhood.

Craig’s lawyer, S. Lee Merritt, criticized the lax punishment for the officer on Twitter and called for him to be fired and charged with a crime.

This article originally published in the January 16, 2017 print edition of The Louisiana Weekly newspaper.