Hundreds of demonstrators rallied Monday evening outside a McKinney elementary school in protest of a police officer's actions against a group of teens at a pool party last week, while a dozen police supporters gathered nearby.
Some who gathered at Comstock Elementary School in the Dallas suburb held signs that included the phrases, "My skin color is not a crime," and, "Don't tread on our kids."
Hundreds Rally, March in McKinney
For more than an hour the group chanted and recalled what occurred in the viral McKinney video.
They called for justice and demanded action be taken against the officer seen in the video.
A few dozen addressed the crowd through a bullhorn, including Derrick Golden, a pastor from McKinney who met earlier with McKinney Police Chief Greg Conley. He said Conley "responded appropriately" after the officer was seen in a video pushing the girl to the ground and pointing his gun at other teens.
The officer is on administrative leave.
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But Golden said Officer David Eric Casebolt should be terminated because of the profanities he used and the fact that he brandished his gun.
The group Monday marched past officers on foot, in patrol cars and on horses. They walked about a mile to the Craig Ranch North Community Pool, where Friday's incident occurred.
About a dozen police supporters along the route wore T-shirts supporting police and carried signs that read, "Back the blue," "We support our police," and "Teach your kids respect."
"They've had a really tough job this past weekend, but we still support them, and we're all going to work this out as a community" said one supporter who didn't want to be identified, claiming she had been threatened on social media.
Others emphasized their concern is not with the entire police department.
"The reality of it is, I saw calm cops on there. I saw cops talking to teenagers, to reason with them. This is not an indictment on the police force. We understand they've got a person here that made a mistake and we want answers," said Collin County resident Traci Henderson.
Lamonica Birmingham has called the neighborhood home for the last three years. She lives several houses away from the pool and said sees both sides.
"We pay HOA dues to use that pool, so you can't come out here and throw unauthorized events. I do not, however, and I want to strongly stress this, I do not agree with how police officers handled the situation," she said.
With nationwide attention on McKinney, the pool and her community, Birmingham said she wants folks to know it's a diverse community.
"We can get together, we can organize events without violence taking place," she said.
