‘He wobbles while he walks.’ Video shows Tarrant constable mock opponent’s disability.
A video filmed Tuesday appears to show a Tarrant County constable mocking an opponent’s disability outside of an early voting center.
Kenneth Sam, a retired Fort Worth police officer of 35 years, filmed the incident at the Forest Hill Civic and Convention Center. Sam is running for Tarrant County constable of Precinct 8. Michael Campbell has been the constable for that precinct since 2012.
Sam and three other men are running against Campbell in Tuesday’s Democratic primary for the Precinct 8 constable seat. There are no Republicans seeking the office.
In the video, Campbell walks with a fake, exaggerated limp and points at Sam, saying “wobbles while he walks.”
Sam told the Star-Telegram that he recently underwent hip surgery and is in physical therapy, causing him to walk with a limp.
“It was an attack on anyone with a disability,” Sam said. “They were being mocked and made fun of. It was very, very hurtful and very disappointing.”
Campbell said he spoke with Sam at the voting center, but denied making fun of him and said he treated Sam with respect.
“I have no idea what he’s talking about,” Campbell said. “I don’t know about what happened. Nothing about that was ever expressed or said.”
Sam said he and Roosevelt Masters, who is also running for constable in Precinct 8, were outside the voting center to pass out pamphlets on their campaigns. Another person was passing out papers for Campbell.
Sam said they started to speak with a woman who was walking through the parking lot to vote. He said Campbell then pulled up in a truck, got out and told the woman that she did not need to worry about them and “instead should vote with her conscience.”
Sam began to film Campbell, because he said he was parked across the designated line that bars candidates from being within 100 feet of a polling center.
The 30-second video shows Campbell standing near a truck, which is parked past the yellow sign that Sam and Masters said marks the spot that electioneers are not allowed to cross. Campbell is seen wearing a blue jacket, with name and title embroidered on it. He’s wearing a badge and a gun is holstered on his hip.
Campbell talks with a woman in a red shirt, identified by Sam and Masters as the voter. He then grabs a Whataburger cup from the truck and, as he hands it to someone, starts dragging his right foot behind him.
“He wobbles while he walks,” he says, gesturing toward Sam.
He turns to go back to the truck and continues walking with a fake limp.
“That man wobbling while he walks,” he says.
He gets back into the truck and pulls out a handicap placard, which he flashes in front of Sam.
“Here you go,” he says. “There you go. That’s what you need.”
He closes the door and someone outside the frame yells, “Corruption at its best.”
Campbell said Sam and Masters “mobbed” the voter and told her not to vote for him.
“I told her, I’d be honored if you did vote for me, but vote with your conscience,” Campbell said.
Campbell denied faking a limp or saying that Sam “wobbled when he walked.” He also said Sam did not record the entire interaction and was trying to get attention.
“I have a limp, too,” he said. “I have a walk too like that sometimes.”
Asked about the handicap placard, Campbell said he was driving someone else’s truck and was moving the placard out of his view.
“I know this is Sam’s first time running for a political seat, and I’ve noticed he takes things really sensitive,” Campbell said. “And I don’t say anything to him and try to get into a discussion with him.”
Sam said his hip problems were caused by playing football and from his 35 years of standing and walking as a Fort Worth police officer. In 2018, the tissue in his hip and back were reaggravated when he was rear-ended, he said.
“It was very, very embarrassing,” he said. “Being in law enforcement, and having another officer act like that, as an elected official and law enforcement officer, is embarrassing.”
In 2019, four deputy constables in Campbell’s precinct were accused of working private security jobs at the same time they were also on duty. Two of them were sentenced to five years’ probation, and another was given two years’ probation. Another had the case against him dismissed in a plea agreement.
Campbell was accused of also working private security while on duty and of knowing his deputy constables did the same.
Masters, who is also the deputy constable of Precinct 7, was a whistle-blower in that case. He testified in February 2019 that Campbell’s office was corrupt, and Campbell worked so many off-duty private security jobs that he was hardly ever in the office.
In an interview at the time, Campbell denied the accusations.
This story was originally published February 26, 2020 at 5:17 PM.
