Fort Worth Officer Suspended After Racially Tinged Arrest Of Black Mom, Daughter Seeking Police Help [VIDEO]

FORT WORTH, TX — The police officer whose arrest of an African-American mother and her two daughters was decried as racist has been suspended for 10 days, officials said Monday.

Police Chief Joel Fitzgerald said at a Monday afternoon press conference that the officer, William Martin, who is white, was "contrite" over his handling of the incident. The Dec. 21 interaction occurred after the woman called police to report an assault on one of her children, but the situation quickly escalated when the officer questioned the woman's parental skills.

The confrontation with the woman was recorded on a cell phone and gained widespread viewership. After viewing the footage, the police chief acknowledged the officer had been rude while insisting he wasn't racist. But as part of the suspension, the officer will now undergo sensitivity training, according to a report by the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.

The woman initially called police to report that a neighbor, an adult male, had allegedly choked her 7-year-old son after the boy had dropped some raisins in his yard and refused to pick them up when asked, the Star-Telegram reported. The woman's daughter then recorded the interaction that occurred when the officer arrived on the scene.

"Why don't you teach your son not to litter?" Martin asked the woman rather than investigating her claims of assault.

"He can't prove that my son littered," the woman 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?" Martin responded.

That's when things devolved further after the woman's 15-year-old daughter stepped in between the two, and the officer grabbed the teenager from behind. The officer then pulled out his Taser before wrestling both females to the ground, the video shows.

After a thorough investigation, the chief said he alone made the decision to suspend Martin even as other members of the department's command staff disagreed, calling for more lenient disciplinary action.

"But the buck stops here," the chief told media outlets, saying Martin displayed neglect of duty and discourtesy. In a disciplinary letter, Martin is said to have "...violated state and departmental rules and policies by using excessive force, being disrespectful, and failing to thoroughly investigate a criminal offense."

But the chief stopped short of doling out an indefinite suspension of the officer, a move that is tantamount to a firing. “Though there were multiple errors in judgment by Officer Martin in this case, it is my belief that he has a future as a Fort Worth Police Officer and that his actions do not warrant an indefinite suspension,” the chief wrote.

The officer has appealed the suspension. He'll receive compensation for days missed if he is subsequently given a lesser punishment after arbitration, the Star-Telegram noted.

Martin's attorney issued a statement disagreeing with the decision to suspend the officer: “Clearly, we do not agree with the findings contained in the Chief's disciplinary letter. We look forward to a fair, neutral, and impartial hearing process, free from political pressure and influence, one where Officer Martin will finally have a ‘voice’ and all of the evidence will be considered by the arbitrator.”

>>> Read the full story at Fort Worth Star-Telegram

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