An Overdose of Racism and Pride in the Police Force

Two of the most deadly sins in this world are Pride and Prejudice.

I had just finished watching the 007 film The World Is Not Enough when I flipped my DVR back to CNN and saw a YouTube video of a police officer pinning an African-American teenage girl to the ground while arresting her. The girl in question was attending an end-of-the-school-year pool party with her friends, some of whom got arrested as well, at the Craig Ranch North Community Pool in McKinney, Texas, when her group was put out by the security guard. A woman at the pool made racist remarks at the kids, such as “Get used to the bars outside this pool, because that’s all you’re going to see,” and “Go back to Section 8 [public] housing.” One of the white teens, apparently the daughter of that same woman, talked back to her about her attitude towards the group, and the fight between the two broke out. The other adults called the police to report a disturbance “involving multiple juveniles at the location, who do not live in the area or have permission to be there, refusing to leave,” referring to the black teens who committed no crime whatsoever. As soon as the police arrived, one cop, Cpl. Eric Casebolt, began yelling to the kids, “GET YOUR ASS ON THE GROUND!” While the other officers were detaining the other teens who were pleading that they just arrived for a friend’s birthday party, Casebolt pinned down the 14-year-old girl and pulled out his gun on her as she cried out for her mother and begged for release.  Some kids rushed to her aid and shouted, “That’s my cousin! Why are you doing this to her?! She didn’t even do nothin’!”

Neither did the other kids who came to the party.

The video, shot by one of the kids who posted it on YouTube the next day, proves there are still some law enforcement officers who are just too damn overzealous with their jobs–not to mention the racist views they hold against African-Americans of any age. It’s as if decades of Martin Luther King, Jr.’s noble work towards equality has gone down the drain. As a matter of fact, some police officers have been defacing King, Jr.’s work for the past three years, if not longer. I’m extremely disgusted at how prejudiced the justice system has become towards the people who are just the same as us despite their skin tones. Cpl. Eric Casebolt and other prejudicial and overzealous police officers are the ones who have committed a crime, NOT the innocent teenagers.