Image source: KPNX-TV video screenshot
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Parents end up at police gunpoint after 4-year-old daughter walks out of a store with a doll—now they're suing
June 14, 2019
The police department is investigating
It all started when a 4-year-old girl walked out of a Phoenix-area Family Dollar with a doll, allegedly unbeknownst to her parents. By the time the family arrived at their destination, they were met by police who held them at gunpoint while arresting them, according to KPNX-TV.
Dravon Ames and Iesha Harper are now suing the city of Phoenix for the way they were treated by police after someone at the Family Dollar called authorities to report them for shoplifting. The situation escalated to a potentially dangerous levels, with an officer telling them at one point "You're gonna get f***ing shot!" Watch below:
There are at least two different video angles of the incident, as bystanders were recording the tense encounter. Police are heard shouting at them to get out of the car, while the woman is saying that the door by her seat does not open because it is stuck. One of the officers runs into the frame with his gun pointed at the car.
"Get your f***ing hands up!" an officer can be heard yelling in one video. "I'm gonna put a f***ing cap in your f***ing head!"
"Did you f***ing hear him? Get out of the f***ing car," another officer ordered, while pointing his gun at the car.
The 4-year old girl and 1-year-old baby were also in the car. The woman, Harper, is heard crying and pleading with the officers that she's pregnant, and that she can't put her hands up because she's holding her baby.
Later on, after the family is out of the car, Harper is confronted by one of the officers who berates her for not having put her hands up. She retorts that she couldn't put her hands up because she had the baby.
The confrontation escalated when the officer grabs Harper by the arm when she raises her voice, roughly pulling her to the side before another officer appeared to diffuse the situation.
The family is suing the city for $10 million saying the officers committed battery, unlawful imprisonment, false arrest, infliction of emotional distress and violation of civil rights, according to KPNX.
"The Phoenix Police Department takes all allegations of misconduct seriously and for this reason, this incident is currently being investigated by the Professional Standards Bureau," a statement from the department said.
(H/T The Hill)
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