Colorado police apologized after officers drew guns on a Black family and handcuffed children on the ground in a mistaken traffic stop
Police officers in Aurora, Colorado, drew guns on a Black family and handcuffed children on the ground in a mistaken traffic stop.
The police chief apologized for the incident and said the officers were trained to conduct a "high-risk stop" for stolen vehicles and draw their weapons and detain victims on the ground.
The family described the incident as "police brutality," and video from the scene has drawn outrage and racked up millions of views on social media.
The chief of the Aurora Police Department apologized Monday night to a Black family who were held at gunpoint, handcuffed, and held face-down in a parking lot after officers mistook their car for a stolen vehicle.
A video of the incident spread across social media and racked up millions of views by Wednesday. The clip showed the family, including four children, lying on the ground, some with their wrists cuffed behind them. Multiple members of the family could be heard screaming and crying.
Chief Vanessa Wilson said in a statement she called the family directly to apologize for the incident, adding that the city intends to cover "age-appropriate therapy" for the children, "who may have been traumatized."
Wilson said her officers are trained to conduct a "high-risk stop" when encountering a suspected stolen car, which includes "drawing their weapons and ordering all occupants to exit the car and lie prone on the ground."
—Joshua Rodriguez (@Joshuajered) August 3, 2020
One witness told the local NBC affiliate KUSA that's exactly what happened when she saw officers pull up to the family's car.
"I saw a car next to me with four girls in it — feet were up on the dash, it was real cute. And next thing I know, the police pull up silently behind them and had guns drawn on the children," Jennifer Wurtz told the news station.
The Aurora Police Department is investigating the incident and reviewing its training programs, the chief says
Wilson said in a statement that she has already ordered new practices and training procedures to better allow officers to use their discretion in scenarios where children are involved.
The woman who was driving the family's SUV, Brittney Gilliam, told CNN she had simply been driving her 6-year-old daughter, 12-year-old sister, and 14- and 17-year-old nieces to a nail salon when the traffic stop began.
"That's police brutality," Gilliam told KUSA. "I don't give a damn what nobody says. That's police brutality."
—Chief Vanessa Wilson (@APDChiefWilson) August 4, 2020
Wilson said her officers made the traffic stop after receiving a notification of a stolen vehicle in the area that Gilliam and her family members were in. Wilson said Gilliam's car matched the license plate number and description of the stolen vehicle, though KUSA reported that the actual stolen vehicle in question was a motorcycle with a Montana license plate that happened to match Gilliam's plate.
Another factor that contributed to the confusion was that Gilliam's SUV had been reported stolen earlier in the year and returned to her, Wilson said.
"He's like, [saying] something about the car being reported stolen. I'm like, 'This happened months ago. You guys cleared it. We had to pick up the car the very next day. So I'm not understanding what's going on," Gilliam told KUSA.
Wilson said the Aurora Police Department has opened an internal investigation into the incident.
Expanded Coverage Module: black-lives-matter-module
Read the original article on Insider
