News

Parents Say Police Pulled a Gun on Their 4-Year-Old for 'Shoplifting' a $1 Doll & Now They're Suing

NewsPublished Jun 18, 2019
By Genny Glassman
Dravon Ames and Iesha HarperABC 15

Two parents from Phoenix, Arizona, are furious after police pulled a gun on their 4-year-old for allegedly shoplifting a Barbie doll from a Family Dollar store. Dravon Ames and Iesha Harper are seeking $10 million from the city after the brutal arrest. They have described police using excessive force to apprehend their little girl.

The parents explained that they didn't even notice their daughter leave with the Barbie doll when they walked out of the store last month.-placeholder
The parents explained that they didn't even notice their daughter leave with the Barbie doll when they walked out of the store last month.
ABC 15

The parents explained that they didn't even notice their daughter leave with the Barbie doll when they walked out of the store last month.

After leaving Family Dollar on May 27, the family reportedly drove to an apartment complex so they could drop off the girl with a babysitter. It was then that a police officer banged on the window of their vehicle, gun drawn, and threatened to kill the family, reports CNN.

"Our hands are up. We're just trying not to get shot, trying to stay calm," Ames said. "He had a gun drawn."

The dad said there had been no sirens or lights to indicate they were being pulled over before the officer got to their vehicle. And the officer who banged on the car window did not immediately identify himself, the father claimed.

Video of the incident has since surfaced and allegedly shows police using excessive force on the family.

In the clip, which was later posted to the Phoenix Police Department's Facebook page, the officer can allegedly be seen kicking Ames so hard that he fell to his knees, punching him, and shouting at him, "When I tell you to do something, you (expletive) do it."

ABC 15 added that witness video, taken by a bystander at the apartment complex, also showed an officer yell at Ames, "I'm gonna [expletive] put a cap right in your [expletive] head."

A second officer pulled a gun on the passenger side of the vehicle before Harper got out. The mom is holding a small child in her arms and has a second child by her side.

Officer Christopher Meyer later wrote a police report that had glaring differences from what the video showed, never mentioning that the family was held at gunpoint, nor acknowledging that Ames was kicked. Meyer's report does mention that the second officer instructed Harper to "set the child down in the shaded area."

The video showed the mom emotionally telling the officer that the ground was too hot and her baby couldn't walk on it, while the report described that Harper "refused to put the child down." The report added that "she became loud, verbally abusive, and refused our commands."

But Harper told CNN a different story. The mom was five months pregnant at the time, and she explained that she experienced nothing but terror for her life. "I I really thought he was gonna shoot me in front of the kids."

The mom gave her kids to a "complete stranger" to hold "because I didn't trust the police to have her."

Since being released online, the video has sparked a public outrage and caused Phoenix's mayor and chief of police to speak out.

Mayor Kate Gallego apologized to Ames and Harper in a statement published to her Facebook account June 15 and told the parents that she was "sick over what I have seen in the video depicting Phoenix police interacting with a family and young children." She wrote, "It was completely inappropriate and clearly unprofessional. There is no situation in which this behavior is ever close to acceptable."

Police Chief Jeri Williams echoed Gallego's sentiment in a video statement she published online. Williams explained that an internal investigation was "immediately" launched as soon as she discovered the video. "I, like you, am disturbed by the language and the actions of our officer," Williams said. "I assure you that this incident is not representative of the majority of Phoenix police officers who serve this city,"

But not everyone is so quick to apologize. Councilman Sal DiCiccio spoke out on Facebook and claimed the story had been seriously misconstrued.

"While the media has created a narrative that this was a 'child shoplifting' stop, video from the store appears to show both adults stealing," he wrote. "Further, the viral video being used to paint a negative picture of the Phoenix Police Department doesn’t tell the whole story -- it’s like reading the last page of a book and assuming you know everything that happened in the previous chapters."

Police also posted a "current fact sheet" about the incident and claimed that the couple had other legal issues they were pursuing.

In a post on Facebook published June 15, the Phoenix Police Department claimed that an officer was responding to a different call about shoplifting in progress at Family Dollar when it was alerted to another shoplifting in progress at the store (Ames and Harper) and that the family were getting into the car and driving away. 

Reportedly, Ames and Harper were at first traveling with Harper's aunt, who dropped "an item" out of the car before the "vehicle quickly reversed and drove away," the fact sheet notes. Moments later, they allegedly dropped the aunt off on a nearby street. "The officer learned the female had three misdemeanor warrants for her arrest and was booked for the outstanding warrants," the fact sheet explained.

Police claimed they finally caught up with Ames and Harper at the apartment complex, where Ames allegedly confessed to shoplifting a package of underwear and said he threw it out the window. They also said that Ames confessed to driving on a suspended license. 

Meanwhile, police claimed that Harper told them her daughter went into the store with her aunt and stole the $1 doll. "She believed they had stolen it because they didn’t have any money. Also, the female said she heard the officer in the parking lot tell the driver to stop the car several times, but he didn’t."

The statement concluded that the store owner declined to prosecute the couple so no arrests were made. 

"While the video that shows the conclusion of the incident looks bad, the only element of this arrest which appears to be out of policy is the use of foul language during the incident, which is unfortunate, but hardly unusual in a charged situation," DiCiccio added in his own statement. "Unfortunately, the narrative being painted is that this was a stop involving a four-year old child rather than an apparent crime committed by adults who put their children in harms-way by bringing them to a criminal activity."

The council member then linked to surveillance footage taken at the store that showed Ames and Harper's daughter walking out of the store with a doll and video that reportedly showed

Ames and Harper refuted several of the police claims in a press conference Monday and told the press they are hoping for justice.

Lawyer Sandra Slaton spoke on behalf of the couple Monday and told ABC 15 that nothing justifies the way Ames and Harper were treated.

The family has since filed a $10 million claim against the city of Phoenix, alleging civil rights violations committed by the police. They also said they do not accept apologies offered to them by the mayor and the chief of police.

"We're aware of apologies," Ames said. "Honestly, it really hasn't done anything to help us. ... it feels like it's a half apology."

They added that both police officers are still working for the department, which felt like a "slap in the face."

The Rev. Jarrett Maupin, a civil rights activist, added that the police are not being honest with their version of events.

When the dad had his turn to speak directly with reporters, he got emotional. "They put a gun in my daughter's face, and you're asking me about drawers?" Ames shot back at reporters who had repeatedly questioned if he stole the underwear, reported the Daily Mail.

Ames said he thought they were going to be "executed" when police showed up at their vehicle, and reminded everyone that his family had been yelled at to "put their [expletive] hands up."

"My family has been through enough," he said. "You see in the video the fear. The sounds of my daughters crying, and you're asking me about some drawers? That's insensitive. That's insulting," he said.

"'I thought we were all going to be executed. By the grace of God, someone was there to video this."

The incident has captured so much attention since the video went viral that the couple has received support from several notable public figures, including rapper Jay-Z, who offered to pay the couple's legal bills.

"It was terrifying for me and my children," Harper said, explaining that her children now are terrified of the police. "They've never been through anything like that." 

"I have always taught my daughter to depend on the police if something's happening, but she's terrified to this day," she said.

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