The city of Forth Worth, Texas, settled a federal civil rights lawsuit filed by a Black woman after she and her daughter were wrestled to the ground in a violent 2016 arrest.
City officials agreed to pay $150,000 to Jacqueline Craig. The settlement will go before City Council in October for approval.
“Reaching a settlement with Ms. Craig was the right decision in this case to provide closure for the Craig family and our community,” Mayor Mattie Parker said in a statement. “As a city, we will remain committed to fostering greater communication and understanding and continuing the progress we’ve made in addressing the needs of Fort Worth.”
As part of the settlement, the city admits no other fault and there are no other requirements, a Fort Worth spokesperson said.
An attorney for Craig did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Saturday.
Craig called Fort Worth police to report that a white neighbor had choked her 7-year-old son, NBC Dallas-Fort Worth reported at the time of the December 2016 incident.
Cellphone video showed the responding officer talking to the neighbor, who claimed that Craig’s son littered on his property and refused to pick it up, according to the station.
The officer then turned to Craig and asked, “Why don’t you teach your son not to litter?”
Craig told the officer that the neighbor could not prove that it was her son who littered and said even if the child did, it does not give the neighbor the right to choke him.
The officer responded, “Why not?” He then told Craig that if she kept yelling, “you’re gonna piss me off and I’m gonna take you to jail.”
The situation escalated and when Craig’s daughter, Brea Hymond, stepped in between the officer and her mother, the officer tackled her.
At one point in the footage, the officer was seen pulling out his Taser as he wrestled Craig and Hymond.
Both women were arrested. Craig was charged with resisting arrest and for having outstanding traffic warrants, police said. Hymond, then 19, was charged with resisting arrest and interfering with public duty. The charges were later dropped.
The officer, William Martin, served a 10-day suspension for violating departmental policies.
Corky Siemaszko and The Associated Press contributed.
Source: | This article originally belongs to Nbcnews.com
