“I want the truth to come out and the lies and threats to stop,” Tracey Carver-Allbritton said Tuesday at a news conference with her lawyer, Gloria Allred.
Adolfo Flores / BuzzFeed
A woman accused of starting a fight at a Texas pool party – where an officer was caught on video throwing a teenage girl to the ground and brandishing his gun – denied on Tuesday making racist comments that sparked the altercation.
Flanked by her attorney Gloria Allred, Tracey Carver-Allbritton said she was only trying to stop a struggle that involved her friend.
It's the first time Carver-Allbritton spoke publicly about the McKinney, Texas, pool party, which she attended with family members. She said death and rape threats have forced her and her family to go into hiding after the incident.
"Accusations that I am racist could not be further from the person I truly am," said Carver-Allbritton. "I want the truth to come out and the lies and threats to stop."
Carver-Allbritton was placed on administrative leave from her job at a technology and data company due to the allegations against her, the company, CoreLogic, said in a statement.
On June 5, police responded to a disturbance call involving "multiple juveniles" who allegedly didn't have permission to be at a community pool party and refused to leave. People called 911 reporting the juveniles were fighting, McKinney officials said.
One video shows Cpl. Eric Casebolt throwing a teenage girl in a bikini to the ground and pulling out his gun on a group of teenagers who came to her aid. Casebolt resigned after the incident and on the same day McKinney Police Chief Greg Conley called the actions "indefensible."
A 24-second video clip shows Carver-Allbritton trying to pull a friend away from a young woman who was pulling her hair. Carver-Allbritton said she was subsequently accused by people of instigating the fight and making racist remarks.
Carver-Allbritton said she tried leaving the pool with her children and grandchildren after dozens of people who weren't residents started jumping the fence into the community pool. People started shouting "go home" and "bye, bye black haters" as they tried to leave, she said.
Carver-Allbritton said her friend was allegedly charged by a woman she said appeared to be over the age of 18 and began pulling her hair.
Allred said the video was incomplete and said the rumors of her making racist statements were false.
The death and rape threats against Carver-Allbritton and her family have come in the form of texts and comments on Facebook posts on a fake profile of her, Allred said. They have been reported to the McKinney Police Department.
"This has created a very dangerous situation for herself and child and husband," Allred said.
Aaron Clark, a friend of the family who is black, also attended the press conference. He said he has known Carver-Allbritton for 13 years and has lived with her family for two years.
"In the 13 years I've known her she has never said a racist statement or even allowed anyone to make a racist statement in my presence," Clark said.
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