Bodycam footage of a White Fort Worth police officer throwing a Black woman and her daughter to the ground has been released to the public.
The footage appears to show Officer William Martin using his foot to push the 15-year-old girl into a squad car. Attorneys representing Jacqueline Craig, who had called police last month to report that a White neighbor choked her 7-year-old son for littering, released the footage.
Craig’s daughter, Brea Hymond, 19, was also arrested during the incident.
Last month, a witness and family member of the incident released video footage of the officer tossing the 46-year-old mother and her daughter that was recorded via Facebook Live. Audio of the bodycam footage, reviewed by the Associated Press, matches the audio of the Facebook video posted by Craig’s family.
Lee Merritt, an attorney serving as Craig’s legal council, said in an email sent to the Associated Press that he had received the video from a trusted source he declined to identify. Merritt had asked that all charges be dropped against Craig and her daughters and fire Martin.
Martin was reportedly suspended for 10 days following the incident.
“Under the laws of the State of Texas, the attorneys for the Craig family are legally entitled to the complete investigative file, records and recordings of this incident and any officers involved. The FWPD have denied and/or delayed several requests from our office in providing this information,” Merritt wrote.
The footage also depicts Martin pushing Hymond’s arms, which were handcuffed, above her head from behind when she refuses to answer his question. It also shows him making physical contact as he pushes another young female who approaches the police car away from the scene.
Those two incidents along with the use of his foot to push the 15-year-old into the police car were cited in a letter from Police Chief Joel Fitzgerald to the city’s Civil Service Commission explaining the finding that Martin had used excessive force in the situation and asking for his suspension.
The video also shows Martin’s conversation with Craig and one of her daughters after he places them in the back of a patrol vehicle.
“Here’s the deal. When somebody’s under arrest, if anybody interferes, they go to jail too,” Martin told them.
“Well, I don’t know this. I’m 15 years old,” Craig’s daughter replied.
Craig responds: “He got mad at me for saying what I said. That’s why he did it. But it’s all recorded, it’s all recorded.”
Fitzgerald said earlier this month that Martin violated policy and is sorry for his behavior. Fitzgerald said he has asked Martin, who will also be required to undergo additional training, to go back into the same community “to repair relationships.”
A spokeswoman for the Tarrant County Criminal District Attorney’s office has said the office will refer the entire case file —including the allegations against the Craig family, the unnamed neighbor and Martin — to a grand jury in the next few months to consider charges. Spokeswoman Sam Jordan said the office will not make any recommendations on charges.
Watch the disturbing footage below.
