The bikini-clad teenager who was tackled and thrown to the ground by a Texas police officer has reached a six-figure settlement with the city.
Dajerria Becton, 18, will receive $148,850 from the city of McKinney three years after a video of the incident went viral and sparked protests and discussions about police treatment of young black people in America.
Many were horrified when a video was released showing McKinney Officer Eric Casebolt throwing Becton to the ground and digging his knee into her back.
Dajerria Becton, 18, will receive $148,850 from the city of McKinney in Texas three years after a police officer threw her to the ground and pulled her hair during a pool party
Many were horrified when a video was released showing McKinney Officer Eric Casebolt throwing Becton to the ground and placing his knees on her back
The footage also showed Casebolt waving his gun at several teens who tried to intervene as Becton begged someone to call her mother while he handcuffed her.
Becton and her legal guardian Shashona Becton sued Casebolt, the city of McKinney, and the police department for $5million in damages.
Damages listed in the federal lawsuit included mental anguish, loss of quality of life, and attorney fees.
All claims against Casebolt and the city of McKinney will be dismissed under the newly-reached settlement, according to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.
The plaintiffs and their attorneys are being paid $184,850 under the settlement, with $148,850 of that money going to Becton.
Six other individuals who were at the party will each be paid $6,000.
The money will come from the city’s self-insurance risk pool.
Betcon could be heard asking someone to call her mother and yelping in pain during the arrest
The footage also showed Casebolt waving his guns at several teens who tried to intervene as Becton begged someone to call her mother while he handcuffed her
A statement released by the City of McKinney and the McKinney Police Department called the events surrounding the settlement to be ‘regrettable’ and thanked the community for its ‘commitment to inclusiveness, order, and unity’.
In her lawsuit, Becton claimed that Casebolt’s actions were consistent with a ‘practice of excessive force’ that was used by the department’s officers.
The McKinney Police Department denied the claims, saying it cultivated the ‘highest standards of training and professionalism for our officers’.
But that was not something many saw in the viral video.
Betcon said she was leaving the party when Casebolt came after her with his baton, threw her down on the ground, grabbed her by her long braids, and slammed her face into the grass.
Becton (right) and her legal guardian Shashona Becton had sued Casebolt (right), the city of McKinney, and the police department for $5million in damages
He then pinned her down into the ground with a knee in her back as she cried out in pain. The officer was also captured on camera swearing at teens.
Police Chief Greg Conley called his actions ‘indefensible’ and Casebolt resigned from the department four days after the June 5, 2015 incident.
A grand jury declined to press criminal charges against him in 2017.
Now Betcon is looking toward the future, enrolling in community college next year and hoping to use some money from her settlement to start her own business.
Now Betcon is looking toward the future, enrolling in community college next year and hoping to use some money from her settlement to start her own business
She dreams of becoming a dentist.
Kim T Cole, Betcon’s attorney, said it has not been an easy road for the teen since she became headline news.
Cole told Teen Vogue that Betcon continues to suffer backlash and one day even called the lawyer in tears because the video had been played in one of her classes.
‘This girl will never the same,’ she said. ‘Anyone who has been a teenage black girl knows how hard it is.’
‘And to have this type of negative publicity, in your bikini, shown all over the world. It tore her up. We don’t know who she would have been had this not happened.’
But Cole is hoping to help Betcon put that chapter of her life in the past by throwing a pool party to celebrate her graduation and the settlement.
She has invited local activists to the party and plans to raise money for scholarships for the teens.
‘Dajerria recently told me she hasn’t been swimming since the incident,’ she said. ‘My goal is to redo this experience.’