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Video footage of a racially-charged arrest in Texas shows the police officer used excessive force and indicates he falsified details of the incident in his official statement. In response to the leak, the charges against Jacqueline Craig were dropped.Through what he called a trusted source, Lee Merritt, Craig's attorney, obtained police body camera footage of the
December 21 arrest. The arrest occurred after Craig called police to report that a neighbor had assaulted her young son.
Video of the arrest captured by Craig's 19-year-old daughter was immediately posted on Facebook Live and went viral.
The newly released video from the arresting cop's bodycam shows him kicking Craig's 15 year-old daughter.
Merritt's previous requests of the Fort Worth Police Department (FWPD) for that video had gone unfulfilled. In addition, Merritt accessed FWPD documents related to the arrest. The video and documentation were given to various news outlets including The Root, which
released the materials early Thursday.
In response to the leak, Fort Worth authorities have
dropped all charges against Craig and her 19-year-old daughter, Brea Hymond. The city also
announced that the neighbor, Itamar Vardi, will be charged with a Class C misdemeanor assault charge, punishable by up to one year in jail and a $4,000 fine, the
Fort Worth Star-Telegram reported. Merritt had previously called for the neighbor to be charged with felony assault.
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