Police chief stands by suspension of Texas officer in video

Police chief stands by suspension of Texas officer in video | iNFOnews.ca
In this Dec. 21, 2016, image from Fort Worth police officer William Martin’s bodycam, Martin pushes Jacqueline Craig down with a stun gun in Fort Worth, Texas. The Fort Worth Police Department denied media requests to release Martin's bodycam footage, however Craig’s attorneys provided the video to The Associated Press on Thursday, Jan. 26, 2017. (Attorneys for Jacqueline Craig/Fort Worth Police Department via AP)

FORT WORTH, Texas – A Texas police chief says he is standing by a 10-day suspension given to a white officer who was filmed wrestling a black mother and her daughter to the ground during a December incident.

Fort Worth Police Chief Joel Fitzgerald said at a news conference Friday that leaked body cam footage and personnel records from previous disciplinary actions against officer William Martin would not affect the suspension.

Fitzgerald also says the leak was illegal and he plans to investigate it as a criminal act. He says the leak also did not influence charges against the mother and daughter being dropped Thursday.

Fort Worth Mayor Betsy Price says she is asking the city and chief for “systematic change” at the department, but did not specify what changes she wants to see.

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