In June 2015, a disturbing video of a 15-year-old girl being forcefully apprehended by a police officer made its rounds on the web. The McKinney, Texas teen, Dajerria Becton, was slammed to the ground outside of a pool party by Officer Eric Casebolt, who was responding to an alleged disturbance complaint. Becton was handcuffed when the cop pressed his knee into her back. Now, the adolescent plans to sue the officer and city for $5 million in damages, the New York Daily News reports.
The lawsuit states that the former officer breached Becton’s “constitutional rights by using excessive force and holding her without probably cause,” the Dallas Morning News reveals. Following the incident, Becton said she endured bouts of mental and physical pain. When the case went to trial in 2016, a jury failed to indict Casebolt.
In a statement issued to the news site, a spokesperson for the McKinney Police Department says the organization and city “denies the claims alleged against it,” and “McKinney prides itself on cultivating the highest standards of training and professionalism for our officers, and it strongly believes that its standards and training will withstand legal challenge.”
Casebolt, who was placed on leave when the investigation was underway, later resigned once protests condemning police brutality sparked across the nation.