Lawyer: Texas police must show arrest not racially motivated

FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) — The lawyer for a black woman who’s seen on video being wrestled to the ground and arrested by a white officer says the burden is on police to prove the officer’s actions weren’t racially motivated.

Attorney S. Lee Merritt said Friday police in Fort Worth and elsewhere have shown “discriminatory behavior” toward minorities.

He told The Associated Press that his client, Jacqueline Craig, isn’t currently considering a federal civil rights claim against police. Merritt says she wants the officer fired.

The unidentified officer responded Wednesday after Craig complained that a neighbor had choked her son for littering.

- FWBP Digital Partners -

Their conversation escalates before he forces her to the ground and arrests Craig and two of her daughters.

Video of the confrontation posted to Facebook has been viewed more than 2.5 million times.