FORT WORTH, Texas _ Fort Worth Police Chief Joel Fitzgerald on Tuesday defended his decision to suspend Officer William Martin 10 days for Martin's controversial arrest of Jacqueline Craig and her two teenage daughters in December, saying Martin used excessive force and was "definitely disrespectful."
In fact, Fitzgerald said, he should have pushed Martin's suspension to 15 days.
"I should have gone higher," Fitzgerald said while testifying at Martin's hearing to appeal the unpaid suspension, which has been completed.
The hearing began Tuesday morning at police headquarters and is expected to last the rest of the week. It's the latest in an ongoing case that has included claims of police brutality and racism, and the controversial demotion of high-ranking police administrators who were accused of leaking video and documents related to the incident to the news media.
Independent arbitrator Norman Bennett will decide whether to uphold or reduce Martin's suspension. The incident happened Dec. 21, when Craig called police to report an assault of her 7-year-old son. A neighbor, Itamar Vardi, had complained that Craig's son had littered in his yard. Craig accused Vardi of grabbing her son by the neck.
When Martin arrived, he asked Craig, "Why don't you teach your son not to litter?"
The situation soon escalated and when Craig's teenage daughter Brea Hymond stepped between Martin and Craig, Martin arrested both of them.
Video of the incident went viral on Facebook and led to widespread criticism of Martin; civil rights leaders continue to demand that he be fired. Martin is white and the woman and teens arrested are black.
Fitzgerald on Tuesday focused his criticism of Martin on three areas: Martin's failure to check on Craig's son, his "rude" interaction with Craig and his alleged used of excessive force during the arrests.
"The first mistake he made, which pretty much led to the devolving of the encounter, was to not check the scene to see if there was an injured child," Fitzgerald said. "He had that information and spoke to the alleged doer. He did not at all check on the child. That led to the encounter devolving."
City attorneys played video of the incident _ from both a Facebook clip and Martin's body camera _ and paused the clips periodically to ask Fitzgerald his opinion of what was unfolding.
Martin's comment about littering was "not one we expect from a Fort Worth police officer," Fitzgerald said.
"He should be sympathetic," Fitzgerald said. "The emphasis he places is more on chastising Ms. Craig rather than providing some kind of service."
Fitzgerald criticized how Martin raised Hymond's arms above her head while she was handcuffed.
"I had a great problem with that," Fitzgerald said.
Fitzgerald was also concerned with contact Martin had with another girl in the video. The body camera footage showed Martin forcing the girl, whose name has not been released, away from his vehicle by pushing her near her throat.
Fitzgerald said it was a "shot to the throat" and an example of an excessive use of force.
After a frame-by-frame breakdown of the clip, Fitzgerald said, "I don't know if I applied the appropriate weight to the throat thrust" while deciding Martin's punishment.
Earlier Tuesday, Assistant City Attorney Elizabeth Dierdorf said there was no excuse for Martin's actions.
"The bottom line is whether the video supports the chief's decision," Dierdorf said. "It will be obvious from the evidence."
Terry Daffron, Martin's attorney, said the videos do not show the whole situation.
"Everyone has the luxury of analyzing these videos ... in a safe environment," Daffron told Bennett, the arbitrator. "Officer Martin didn't have that luxury that day. He had to make split-second decisions in a fluid environment."
Daffron said Martin was unaware of the allegation that Vardi, the neighbor, had grabbed Craig's son by the neck when he arrived at the scene.
"He knew he was going to a disturbance that involved neighbors and littering," Daffron said.
Also, Daffron said Craig and her family had "threatened" Vardi and another neighbor.
"To dismiss their comments is ludicrous," Daffron said. "That set the tone. I'm not excusing Officer Martin's comments, but you cannot take this in a vacuum and simply say their attitude doesn't matter. Yes, Officer Martin was rude, and he is sorry. But he hopes you find he did not use excessive force."
Martin will testify Wednesday at the hearing, which is open to the public.
