Roy Exum
My grandfather, who taught me most of what I know, had a great insight that he used often in hiring a key employee. He would ask, “Has he been through the fire?” What this meant was that he wanted to know how the person would react when the printing press wouldn’t start or when some arrogant politician lambasted a rookie reporter in a public meeting. A big key to Roy McDonald’s success was that he surrounded himself with those who had endured the flames of life.
And I am of the opinion David Eric Casebolt, the white Texas police officer who grabbed a black girl at a party and held her to the ground, may be the most hireable police officer in America right now.
Lord knows he’s been through the fire, regardless of a video tape that removes any doubt that he badly crossed the line at an unruly swimming party in McKinney, Tx., a suburb of Dallas.
Now we learn that earlier on the day that he faced teenage pandemonium, Eric Casebolt had answered back-to-back suicides. At the first he found a horrified wife and her children who had just eye-witnessed her husband end his life with a pistol. From there he rushed to “talk down” a teenager who was threatening to end her life with a swan dive off the roof of her parents’ house.
According to his lawyer he was “reluctant” to answer the call for assistance at a pool party where their were unruly kids but when a violent act (a fight between two women) broke out, he had little choice. There is no doubt, unless you are a publicity-seeking “activist,” that Eric Casebolt went there to help. With shouting kids, some climbing a fence to illegally swim in a pool and others taunting one another, he reacted unprofessionally and unwisely until more officers arrived to quell the scene.
That’s a pity. Here is a 10-year police veteran whose credentials are quite impressive. He was named as the “Officer of the Year” some years ago and he was also sued for “racial profiling.” The charges were soon dropped when his accuser was sent to prison on a drug-related sentence. But when Casebolt arrived at the Craig Ranch North community pool, other police officers soon verified a large crowd was refusing to comply with police demands.
Officer Casebolt reponded, poorly as it turned out to be, and when nine additional units arrived and order was restored, the bet here is that Casebook knew before anybody else that his initial reaction was not good. I’ll go you one further that the incident was one of the best lessons Casebook and his fellow officers have ever gotten and, believe this, they are highly trained.
A key point is that psuedo-experts like me were nowhere close to McKinney, which is some 40-odd miles north of Dallas. Obviously an adult woman was screaming at the kids to leave, as more uninvited kids clamored over a fence to join the party, and soon got into a physical altercation with an angry girl. Some white race-baiter told the children to “go back to your Section 8 housing,” which was almost as painful as an actual assault and – bingo – everybody is out of control.
Then what? Nobody was killed or harmed, all who were temporarily arrested were released when cooler heads prevailed, but the sickening flames of white-led discrimation by police cannot be erased. Officer Casebolt had a bad day, sure he did, and he flunked the day’s biggest test, but society still needs people like him.
A huge part of me wants to say the city of Chattanooga should try to hire him. I’ve no doubt he learned a lesson that will stick with him and that his “going through the fire” will make him twice the patrolman he was before. But if we give him a second chance at redeeming himself, should we not give some first-time criminals a second chance as well?
The other day Richard Bennett, who was once a leader of Chattanooga’s Violence Reduction Initiative, was given a “second chance” after charges against Bennett were tossed in Criminal Court, much to the dismay of court watchers. But, wait, Judge Barry Steelman, who is white, is an excellent jurist and he gave Bennett, who is black, a break because the judge believed it was the best thing to do. The protesters didn’t show up, you’ll understand, because they just come in one color and only work one side of the street from all I can tell. Think about that. It’s the truth from all I can see.
Bennett was found in a minivan with a woman identified as Qwentina Holiday about a year ago. Police witnessed open beer containers, an open bottle of tequila and evidence of marijuana. Bennett had seven hydrocodone pills, said to be without a prescription, and officers said he had a strong odor of alcohol on his breath and that his pants were unzipped.
I haven’t seen any white protests alleging Richard Bennett was wronged, nor have I heard discussion from the surely perplexed police officers who wonder how Richard skated. One of his lawyers said Richard had been “vindicated,” if that’s the right word, but the point is he got a “second chance” that the court felt was proper and just.
“Leniency with wisdom” is a tool many judges use, more than you may think on first-time cases, so I’m saying Eric Casebolt is a good cop who had a bad day. When all of this blows over, Officer Casebolt will be a great cop who will no longer have a bad day and that he’ll treat citizens, black or white, in ways that will help us all.
That’s what “going through the fire” does to people, but, as you know, it’s a painful process.
royexum@aol.com