Another pool visit for a Black family ends in police scuffle

By Starla Muhammad -Assistant Editor- | Last updated: Jun 26, 2015 - 1:35:12 AM

‘This all began because of a lie’

Video still of young 12-year-old girl pinned to police car by officer.

A day that started out with a pregnant mother dropping a group of children off at a local swimming pool for a day of summer fun abruptly ended with her arrested, handcuffed on the ground and charged with resisting arrest and disorderly conduct. Her sister and two juvenile family members were also charged. Krystal Dixon 33, and her sister Maya Dixon, 34 pleaded not guilty June 17 in Fairfield Municipal Court to misdemeanor charges stemming from a June 9 altercation with police at Fairfield Aquatic Center in Fairfield, Ohio. It’s the second high profile documented case this month involving a violent response by police toward Blacks at a swimming pool.

This Fairfield incident was also captured on cell phone and police dash cam video and pool facility surveillance tape. Krystal Dixon dropped eight children off at the pool then headed to pick up her sister Maya, so they could both return to the pool and spend the day with the children, said Bishop Bobby Hilton, president of the Cincinnati Chapter of the National Action Network. He spoke on behalf of Krystal and Maya Dixon to The Final Call.

Teen girl in hospital with tubes in her eyes due to the effects of being pepper sprayed by Fairfield police stemming from an altercation at a swimming pool, June 9. Photo: Courtesy of Bobby Hilton

The children ranged in ages from 8 to 15. Bishop Hilton said the Dixons had been frequent visitors to the Fairfield Aquatic Center through the years and never had any previous problems.

The Dixon women were driving back to the pool when Krystal received a call from one of the children that a nephew, 15 was not allowed to swim and they were being put out because he did not have proper swim attire. The boy’s swim trunks were in the car but when the women arrived, the children told Krystal Dixon they had been asked to leave despite paying the $6 per person entry fee. She left her car engine running because she just wanted to gather all of the children and leave, said Bishop Hilton. She inquired with staff about a refund but was told it could not be issued.

According to Bishop Hilton, Krystal Dixon proceeded to the pool area to get the other children, some of whom were still in the water. She was told by staff that the 15-year-old boy disregarded pool rules and got into the water despite not having proper swim attire. The only problem with that, said Bishop Hilton is that the young man was not wet.

“It’s very important to understand, this all began because of a lie,” he told The Final Call. “Krystal looks around at her nephew and he’s standing there and one major problem, he is bone dry. He’s absolutely dry, not one drop of water on him.”

When she points this out, explained Bishop Hilton, she is then told all the children had to leave because of their “behavior” according to pool staff. A park ranger who was at the facility called police but once officer’s arrived, things quickly escalated.

Police contend they were called and came to the scene because Krystal and her family were told to leave because several of the children were behaving “disorderly” and that Krystal Dixon became “aggressive” toward pool staff. Bishop Hilton disputes that.

All she was doing was trying to make sure she had all the children before she left, explained Bishop Hilton. She did nothing wrong, he argued.

Video shows one White male officer approaching Krystal Dixon telling her to leave. She walks toward the pool. She informs the officer she trying to get all the children. The officer then orders Krystal Dixon who is wearing a bathing suit and is six months pregnant, to show him her I.D. and then begins grabbing her arms as she tries to fend him off.

“She’s just going back to get the other kids and a police officer reaches out and grabs her and she says, ‘don’t touch me’, ‘don’t touch me’ and that upset the kids,” said Bishop Hilton.

Panicked-filled screams and cries from the Dixon children could be heard. Video shows officers physically restraining several of the children against a metal gate, including a young girl in a bathing suit. At least two of the Dixon girls were pepper sprayed.

According to reports Krystal Dixon and several children did go to the hospital as a precaution.

Video still of fearful young girl holding on to metal gate as officers attempt to pull her away.

Fairfield Police contend officers did nothing wrong and handled the situation appropriately and that it was their officers who were being assaulted.

Supporters of the Dixons argue police were overly aggressive and handled the situation poorly.

Fairfield, Ohio is less than 30 miles north of Cincinnati and has a population of 42,510 with Whites making up 79 percent and Blacks 12.8 percent.

If found guilty of the misdemeanor charges, Krystal and Maya Dixon could face 60 to 90 days in jail and a fine. A 15-year-old male juvenile was charged with disorderly conduct and resisting arrest and a 12-year-old female juvenile was charged with assault and resisting arrest.

Bishop Hilton argued there was no reason for police to arrest Krystal Dixon because she was getting ready to leave. No one affiliated with the facility ever asked her to leave, he pointed out.

“The kids are upset because this big White man is touching their mommy. And our Black kids live in the reality that most folk that are not Black are not even thinking about. Our Black kids live in a reality that a lot of unarmed Black folks are killed by police. So when they see this big White officer grabbing their mom, they’re hysterical, they’re upset, they’re disturbed.”

The Dixon’s were not fighting police, they were simply trying to protect Krystal who in addition to being pregnant has rods in her back said Bishop Hilton.

Video still of Fairfield police surround teen girl on the ground as she is handcuffed at a local swimming pool.

“They handcuffed her from behind, had her smashed up against the gate. They cared not about how they were treating Krystal. They didn’t care at all and that’s what upset the kids. They’re seeing their mom and their aunt mistreated in this way.”

According to the preliminary police report, a copy of which was obtained by The Final Call, police accuse Krystal Dixon of pushing an officer and Maya with striking the officer. They also accuse Krystal Dixon of ordering one of the youngsters to get a Taser from her purse, a fact Bishop Hilton also disputes. Krystal does carry a stun gun in her purse, he said. However, when she saw police before she entered the pool area, she told one of the children to hold her purse because she did not want to take it inside and be accused of carrying a weapon.

According to Doug Day, the public information officer for the Fairfield Police Department, anytime force is used, the department conducts an investigation. Ofc. Day told The Final Call although an investigation is underway, the investigation is done internally within the department.

“That investigation is still going on but I can say this, looking at the videos that we’ve looked at and interviewing the people we have, we don’t believe our officers did anything wrong,” said Ofc. Day. He could not give a timetable on when the investigation would be completed.

Attorney Clyde Bennett who is representing Krystal and Maya Dixon wants all charges dropped; stating police had no reason to place them under arrest.

“You just can’t go up to a person and grab them in America, even if you’re a police officer. You have to have a reason to do that…if a person is behaving in a legal manner, you just can’t grab them, you just can’t say ‘come here’, snatch them. That’s unconstitutional,” Atty. Bennett said to reporters after the June 12 arraignment. The arrest was unlawful and you can’t resist an unlawful arrest, said Atty. Bennett. Both Atty. Bennett and Bishop Hilton said the Dixons were not asked to leave by anyone affiliated with the facility.

Bishop Hilton said police accounts the Dixons were disorderly and aggressive are an all too common view of Black people, particularly Black youth.

“That feeds into a narrative that our Black sons and our Black daughters are these scary, wild, harmful individuals that everybody needs to be scared of…I’m really tired of this lying narrative that they’ve given our children.”

Bishop Hilton is confident once all video from all sources is reviewed, it will exonerate the Dixons and confirm police acted inappropriately.

This was a major and traumatic experience for the family that cannot be written off, said Bishop Hilton. There were injuries sustained by the Dixons that Bishop Hilton said he could not disclose.

The children were not beating up and assaulting police, they were simply trying to protect their loved one, he said.

“The thing escalated when the police officer put his hands on the mother. Had he never touched her, had he just let them go home, this wouldn’t have happened.”

The Final Call