Back in November, Hurst 17-year-old Andrew Rodriguez was being arrested by Officer M. Jimenez on an outstanding trespassing warrant. Rodriguez was lying on the ground with his hands behind his back when another officer, Disraeli Arnold, decided to assist with the arrest. Arnold did that by taking a flying leap at the teen, kneeing him in the back of the head, and screaming, "Move and fuckin' die!", as well as "Move so I can fuck you up!"
"You kneed me in the face," Rodriguez yells at one point.
"I sure did," Arnold replies. He then approaches the camera man and screams his name and badge number directly into the lens before walking away.
The entire incident was videotaped by a friend of Rodriguez's and quickly went viral -- to date, it's garnered nearly 190,000 views on Youtube. Arnold was placed on administrative leave. Meanwhile, Rodriguez and his mother, Kelly Pope, enlisted the help of community activist Carlos Quintanilla to request that the Tarrant County district attorney and the U.S. attorney's office for North Texas investigate Arnold for excessive force and civil rights violations. (In the same statement, Rodriguez also apologized for using "language that my mother would not approve of." At one point, he referred to both officers as "faggots.")
Now, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reports that Officer Arnold will not be charged with a crime.
"After reviewing the video, we advised the police department that it did not appear that a crime had occurred," Melody McDonald, a spokesperson for the Tarrant County DA's office, told the paper.
Arnold is still on administrative leave while the department conducts an internal investigation. It's unclear whether that leave is paid or unpaid, and what possible violations of department policy Internal Affairs is investigating. We've left messages for Hurst PD and Rodriguez's mother and will update if we hear back.
Meanwhile, Rodriguez is still being charged with resisting arrest. His court date is set for January 7.
