By Shantell E. Jamison, ebony.com
A 46-year-old Black mother called Fort Worth, Texas, police to report that a White man in her neighborhood choked her son.
And instead of the White police officer who responded to the call arresting the man, Jacqueline Craig, along with two family members, ended up in handcuffs following an ugly confrontation.
The Star Telegram reports that Craig called police Wednesday afternoon to report that a man assaulted her 7-year-old son for littering. Relatives of the woman say the man grabbed the boy by the neck in an attempt to get him to pick up the trash.
After a police officer, who has yet to be identified, arrived at the scene in the 7400 block of Rock Garden Trail in the southwest Fort Worth neighborhood, the situation escalated quickly.
Video footage recorded via Facebook Live under Porcha Craver’s profile shows the officer speaking to both the man who allegedly assaulted Craig’s son and then Craig. Craig can be heard telling the man that he should have let her know if he believed her son had littered before putting his hands on him. She also informed him that he didn’t have the right to put his hands on her child.
“Why don’t you teach your son not to litter?” the officer can be seen and heard asking Craig.
“He can’t prove to me that my son littered,” Craig responded. “But it doesn’t matter if he did or didn’t, it doesn’t give him the right to put his hands on him.”
“Why not?” the officer responded.
The exchange then becomes heated with Craig informing the officer that his question made her angry. The cop then threatens to arrest Craig if she continues to yell at him.
A struggle between the officer and Craig ensues before 19-year-old Brea Hymond, a relative of Craig’s, can be seen running to stand in between the two.
The officer pulled out a Taser, but it is unclear if he used it. He wrestled Craig and Hymond to the ground, handcuffing and arresting them along the way. A juvenile relative was also taken into custody.
Craig was charged with resisting arrest. She also had outstanding traffic warrants, according to jail records. Hymond was detained for resisting arrest and interfering with public duty, according to jail records.
On Thursday, Fort Worth police said they were aware of the video and that “Internal Affairs is currently conducting an internal investigation. A formal statement from FWPD will be sent out….later today.”
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