A mother and her daughters were arrested by a white police officer in Fort Worth last year after the mother called the police to say her 7-year-old son was choked by a neighbor. The charges were dropped and the video from the body cam of the involved police officer was also recently released.
The arrests were caught on camera by the family of the mother. She was identified as Jacqueline Craig and the video was put up Facebook. Days after, the video became viral causing widespread backlash.
Huffington Post reported Craig's son was grabbed by the neck by their neighbor named Itamar Vardi after the child refused to pick up the litter he dropped. The mother called the cops on Vardi and contended the man should not have laid his hands on the child and let her discipline her son. One officer then arrived and he was identified as William Martin, who had a heated exchange with Craig after he did not take the allegation of the mother seriously.
In the video recorded by the family of Craig, Martin was heard asking, "Well, why don't you teach your son not to litter?" Craig then said their neighbor cannot prove to her that her son littered but that did not matter because what she was concerned about was the neighbor not having any right to put his hands on her son. The situation escalated and Martin threatened Craig and her family be put in jail.
One of the daughters of Craig approached the two and Martin grabbed the daughter. He also pushed Craig to the ground then proceeded to arrest them.
Two daughters of Craig were arrested and were identified as 19-year-old Brea Hymond and a 15-year-old. They were all charged with interference with public duty, failing to provide identification, resisting arrest, and disorderly conduct.
As for the video from the body camera of Martin, it was released to the public but Fort Worth Police have no idea how it was leaked, WFAA 8 reported. The department did not confirm the authenticity of the video but said they were aware of the leakage.
An internal investigation was started by the Fort Worth Police Department. Martin was suspended for 10 days without pay.
He is currently back to work but is no longer assigned to patrol the neighborhood where he arrested Craig and her daughter. The neighbor who was accused of choking Craig's son was issued a citation for assault by contact.
Craig and her family are reportedly hoping Martin will be fired. Many protests were also organized calling for the firing of Martin.
