Texas officer's attorney: He let his emotions get the better of him
By Ashley Fantz, Holly Yan and Catherine E. Shoichet, CNN
Video Source: CNN
Updated 3:46 PM ET, Wed June 10, 2015
(CNN)There's more to Eric Casebolt than the video that showed the former police corporal slamming a bikini-clad teenage girl to the ground in McKinney, Texas, his lawyer told reporters Wednesday.
And there's more to that day than those seven minutes caught on video, attorney Jane Bishkin said.
"The video that everyone has seen only depicts a small part of Eric's actions that day," Bishkin said, noting that Casebolt had responded to two suicide calls earlier Friday that took "an emotional toll" on the 10-year veteran of the force.
"With all that happened that day, he allowed his emotions to get the better of him," Bishkin said. "Eric regrets that his conduct portrayed him and his department in a negative light. He never intended to mistreat anyone, but was only reacting to a situation and the challenges it presented. He apologizes to all who are offended. That day was not representative of the 10-year service to the community of McKinney, and it is his hope that by his resignation the community may start to heal."
[...]
But the police union defended the former officer.
"He was a dedicated and decorated officer who in this instance was placed in a high-stress environment that he was not fully prepared for," Daniel Malenfant of the McKinney Fraternal Order of Police Lodge #107 told reporters, noting that Casebolt had won an "officer of the year" award in the past for his service.
[...]
[Dajerria] Becton wasn't charged, McKinney police said. She was released to her parents.
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