(CNN)Benet Embry just wanted a respite from the heat when he went to his neighborhood pool Friday. Talking to CNN Monday about the national story that rolled out of that simple, mundane summer activity still has him pretty well dismayed.
The 43-year-old African-American has lived in Craig Ranch, a planned community, for eight years. It's a nice place. Racially diverse. People get along there.
Thinking back on the pool party, he might have known it would be crowded. The invite to the party had earlier caught fire on Twitter and social media. Craig Ranch's strict homeowners' association rules prohibit bringing more than two guests to the pool.
So when crowds of teenagers showed up, huddling by the gate and shouting to let them in, things got out of hand. Some kids jumped over the fence, Embry said. A security guard tried to get them to leave but was outnumbered, so the guard called police.
Police would arrive, and one officer seen on a video later posted to YouTube, would be placed on administrative leave. The officer cursed at several black teenagers, yanked a 14-year-old girl wearing only a bikini to the ground and knelt on her back. He also unholstered his firearm and chased teenage boys as they approached him while he was trying to control the girl.
Shortly after the approximately seven minute video hit YouTube, many on social media alleged that the white officer was racist. The Texas NAACP called meetings because members suspected as much, its president, Gary Bledsoe, said on CNN Monday.
Embry disagrees.
"Let me reiterate, the neighbors or the neighborhood did not call the police because this was an African-American party or whatever the situation is," he said. "This was not a racially motivated event -- at all. This whole thing is being blown completely out of proportion."
McKinney Police Chief Greg Conley told reporters Sunday that several callers described fighting at the pool. At least 12 officers responded. Someone shot a YouTube video of what happened after they arrived, including the officer who has been placed on administrative leave, running after teenagers and conducting himself in a way that Conley said "raised concerns."
"I may or may not agree with everything that the police officer did, but I do believe he was trying to establish order. I am thankful to God that nobody got hurt," Embry said, adding that it made him feel uncomfortable to see an officer kneel on a teenager in a bikini and wave his gun at other teens.
A mother who was at the party gave a similar account. She spoke with her back to CNN's camera and didn't want to be identified.
"Nobody said anything about race," she said. "It was not a problem."
