Craig’s arrest shows Fort Worth justice system is unjust

It had been an all-night affair last December to secure the release of Jacqueline Craig and her daughter who had been physically abused and arrested by Fort Worth Police Officer William Martin. The arrest had already gone viral on social media, being viewed by millions around the world.

Upon release, Craig and her daughter were met by a flurry of reporters with questions about their experience — some basic, some provocative; others accusatory, most redundant. One, however, seemed to be of particular import: What do you want to come from all this?

For reasons I’m not sure I have fully appreciated, this case has struck a chord with people across racial, state and class lines. Its shelf-life has outlasted the norm for non-fatal police encounters.

Some have gone as far as to compare Craig’s arrest to that of Rosa Parks 62 years earlier in Montgomery, Ala.

Both arrests had inexplicably far-reaching reverberations given the relative minutiae of the incident.

Of course, like Fort Worth, Montgomery had seen more heinous and violent interactions between the black community and law enforcement.

Why Parks’ arrest sparked a movement likely involved several important factors, but I’d like to believe (similar to Craig’s case), the simplicity of right and wrong involved forced the city to confront demons it had tolerated for too long.

Rosa Parks’ arrest led to an 11-month struggle culminating in the desegregation of the Montgomery bus system.

To the question about what she would like to see come from her arrest, Craig’s response could be summed up as “the desegregation of the Fort Worth justice system.”

Craig and the people of Fort Worth do not face the actual signage of racial segregation experienced by Rosa Parks and the black community of Montgomery.

But there exists a standard of justice for blacks in Fort Worth that is demonstratively lower than whites in the city.

By the numbers, African Americans are treated more aggressively than their white counterparts. This case embodies that reality.

Fort Worth’s population is about 41 percent white and 19 percent African American.

Yet according to the Fort Worth Police Department’s 2015 Racial Profiling Analysis, African Americans involved in a traffic stops that year were arrested more than twice as often as whites.

The incident that ended in Craig’s arrest was set in motion when a white neighbor noticed a young black boy discarding raisins near his lawn.

The neighbor made a split-second decision to grab the child, first by the arm and then more forcibly by the neck, causing the child to suffer a cervical sprain as he drove him to the ground.

This should have been classified as a felony assault, but after more than a month of investigation and community protests, the neighbor was charged with only a misdemeanor.

The arrest of Craig and the detention of her teenage daughters was not only procedurally unsound, it was humiliating.

She was taunted by Martin, provoked and belittled.

The 11-year-veteran of the Fort Worth Police Department manhandled and terrorized Craig in the community in which she lives.

After securing Craig and her 15-year-old in his patrol car, Martin proceeded to arrest her 19-year-old daughter for filming the incident.

It is widely understood that you cannot be arrested solely for filming a police encounter, but Brea Hymond was arrested for doing just that.

Jacqueline Craig sat handcuffed and helpless inside of Martin’s patrol car while he exerted excessive force on her teenage daughter, flexing her handcuffed arms over her head just to cause her pain.

If Martin had brutalized a white family the way he did the Craigs, remaining on the force would not have been an option.

Criminal charges for his use of force, his unlawful detention, his abuse of power would almost certainly have been pressed had the racial roles been reversed.

Jacqueline Craig’s case highlights a tangible imbalance in the administration of justice in Fort Worth, an imbalance that is present throughout much of the country.

Craig will tell you she is no Rosa Parks.

Parks was a seasoned activist who set out with movement objectives in mind.

Jacqueline Craig is a very private person who ultimately just wants justice for her children.

It is her hope that pressing for one standard of justice to be applied in this case will force Fort Worth to confront demons it has tolerated for far too long.

This story was originally published February 24, 2017 at 3:36 PM with the headline "Craig’s arrest shows Fort Worth justice system is unjust."