His name is Brandon Brooks, he’s 15, and is the astute young man who shot the video of McKinney police breaking up that pool party on Friday that has resulted in the nation’s eyes focused on McKinney, Texas, often voted as the Best Place to Live in America, as perhaps being the the Worst Place to Be If You Are Black and a Teenager.
“The cops showed up and the parents immediately started yelling, ‘you need more cops, there’s too many of them.’ And most of the kids weren’t even involved. It was a fight between a mom and girl, which had nothing to do with all the other kids that she apparently needed more cops for,” Brooks explained.
That’s when Brooks says the officer, reportedly identified as Cpl. Eric Casebolt, arrived on the scene and flipped out. “He trips and drops his flashlight. He’s going crazy, putting people in handcuffs, tackling people, slinging them on the ground.” So, why wasn’t Brooks handcuffed? “I was one of the only white people in the area when that was happening. You can see in part of the video where he tells us to sit down, and he kinda like skips over me and tells all my African-American friends to go sit down.”
We still don’t know how this started, if teens crashed the party, did Brandon crash the party, if there was a DJ tweeting it, all of that. Still lots of unanswered questions. Casebolt obviously over-reacted. It sounds like it started with a personal spat: But this young man is a very good example of why McKinney may very well be the Best Place to Live in America — Brandon has an amazing sense of what’s right and what’s wrong. And he sure knows how to express it via social media. The fact that he calmly videoed with his phone while guns were brandished and people were screaming means he likely has a media career awaiting him.
It was a fight between a mom and girl, which had nothing to do with all the other kids that she apparently needed more cops for,” Brooks explained. That’s when Brooks says the officer, reportedly identified as Cpl. Eric Casebolt, arrived on the scene and flipped out. “He trips and drops his flashlight. He’s going crazy, putting people in handcuffs, tackling people, slinging them on the ground.”
McKinney may be getting a black eye for the actions of one policeman who obviously needs training or a career change, but if Brandon Brooks is the kind of kid this community and the schools produce, then Money Magazine is right on.
