A woman wrestled to the ground by a Fort Worth police officer last year has filed a federal lawsuit accusing him of using excessive force.
Cellphone video of Jacqueline Craig's arrest went viral, raising questions about whether the police response was justified.
Craig said her neighbor had choked her 8-year-old son for littering. Cellphone video shows Officer William Martin and Craig arguing before he wrestles her and her teenage daughter to the ground and arrests them. He also arrested another daughter who took video of the encounter.
Martin was suspended for 10 days. Charges against Craig and her daughters were eventually dropped.
On Friday, the Craig family filed a lawsuit against Fort Worth, Martin and their neighbor, alleging that their constitutional rights were violated during the arrests.
The lawsuit, according to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, says Martin arrested the Craigs without probable cause and illegally assaulted them during the arrest. He's also accused of violating their right to record police activity.
The lawsuit alleges that top Fort Worth officials failed to supervise, discipline and identify officers who used excessive force, the Star-Telegram reported. Martin is accused in the lawsuit of "consciously" disregarding the Craig family's rights while knowing that city officials would "approve or ratify" his behavior.
Fort Worth also faces other lawsuits over its handling of the Craig case.
Two Fort Worth police officials sued the city last month after they were demoted and accused of leaking body-camera footage of the arrests. One of the officials was hired last week to be the police chief in Seaside, Calif.
That city said it was well aware of the allegations against him but would "welcome a police professional committed to equity and transparency."
