The family of a girl who claims she was "body slammed" by an Arlington police officer during a melee at an end-of-summer party has filed a federal lawsuit against the officer.
The lawsuit was filed in Fort Worth on Thursday by the Perry family and claims that Officer Dylan Eckstrom used excessive force when he allegedly lifted the then 15-year-old girl a foot off the ground and pummeled her back first onto the pavement.A cellphone video, which went viral, shows the officer forcing the girl to the ground, but it does not show what happened beforehand.The officer outweighed the girl by nearly 100 pounds, according to the lawsuit. Eckstrom is also alleged to have scraped the girl's face along the pavement causing scarring and pepper-sprayed her face at close range, which caused pain to her open wounds, the lawsuit stated.The girl was charged with fighting in public after a melee broke out at 1010 Collins, an entertainment and events center, when a private party was shut down early.Eckstrom ticketed the girl, who pleaded not guilty in Arlington Municipal Court in September. A jury trial is tentatively set for sometime in July, according to a municipal court official.Arlington police said the incident report from their internal investigation is in the final review process, but did not know when the report might be released pubically.Calls seeking comment about the lawsuit to the Arlington city attorney's office and James Jeffrey, the attorney representing Eckstrom, were not immediately returned.Mitch Mitchell, 817-390-7752Twitter: @mitchmitchel3Have more to add? News tip? Tell us
