Protesters gather in downtown Fort Worth on 1-year anniversary of Craig arrest

A small group of protesters launched simultaneous demonstrations downtown Thursday — the anniversary of the day Jacqueline Craig was arrested — over what they say are racist policies of the city of Fort Worth and, in particular, the police department.

A viral video of the arrest of Craig and her two daughters ignited the community, with some calling for the firing of both the officer who made the arrest and Police Chief Joel Fitzgerald. In the end, officer William Martin was suspended for 10 days, and a task force was formed on race and culture. Craig is African-American and Martin is white.

“I did not ask for the treatment my family received,” said Craig, who attended Thursday’s event, in an interview. “”This was thrust upon me. I did not want to be a celebrity or an advocate.”

Protest organizer Michael Bell said Thursday that the small demonstrations have continued Monday-Friday since the arrests because of the city’s “inaction,” and to let city government leaders know they are not going away.

“We are here to say that Fort Worth has a major problem with race and we’re not going anywhere until that changes,” he said.

Craig became a central figure on Dec. 21 last year, after she called 911 to report that a neighbor had assaulted her son for littering. As Fort Worth police officer William Martin responded to the scene, he asked Craig, “Why don’t you teach your son not to litter?”

The situation escalated as a crowd gathered and Craig and her two daughters were eventually arrested. The charges were later dropped, but not before a video of the arrest took off on social media. By Dec. 20, it had been viewed more than 5 million times on Facebook and shared more than 114,000 times, according to Facebook.

Craig has filed a damage claim with the city, saying, “My children and I were assaulted, falsely imprisoned, subject to extreme distress and overall constitutionally violated by Officer Martin as I attempted to resolve a matter involving my son and an adult neighbor. Since this incident my family is in fear of being watched and harassed due to the aggressive and unprofessional behavior of Officer Martin.”

The city has said it would not pay any claims arising from the Craig arrest.

But this week, Sgt. Kenneth Pierce was fired on Monday for directing another officer to shock an African-American woman, Dorshay Morris, 29, with a Taser on Aug. 13. The letter from Fitzgerald detailing the firing said Pierce was fired for wrongful arrest and use of unreasonable force during Morris’ arrest.

Lee Merritt, a lawyer who is representing both Craig and Morris, said he plans to file a lawsuit on the Craig family’s behalf in federal court.

Merritt said the city’s actions have consequences and also said in response to questions said he didn’t recommend that African-Americans seek police assistance in an emergency.

“Based on their patterns and practices it’s dangerous to call police for help, regardless of whether there is a warrant for your arrest or not,” Merritt said. “Morris may have been better off not calling police in her situation. The problem with police brutality in this country is at epidemic proportions. We literally have the worst policing on the planet in this country.”

Bell contends that the Morris arrest is proof that there is a systemic problem with policing in Fort Worth.

Morris had called police about a domestic disturbance involving her boyfriend, who was arrested on a public intoxication charge. Pierce told Morris to either produce her identification or she would be handcuffed and taken to jail, according to a police document.

Morris resisted being handcuffed and one of three officers who responded, M. Bayona, was ordered to shock Morris with her Taser during the ensuing struggle. Morris was arrested and charged with resisting arrest and aggravated assault, charges that were dropped after her release from jail on Aug. 16.

Against the background of chants such as,” No justice, no peace,” Bell said the firing of Pierce doesn’t make up for the treatment of the Craig family.

“We understand what’s happening,” he said. “The city is trying to wait us out.”

Mitch Mitchell: 817-390-7752, @mitchmitchel3

This story was originally published December 21, 2017 at 3:59 PM with the headline "Protesters gather in downtown Fort Worth on 1-year anniversary of Craig arrest."