Dravon Ames and his fiancee, Iesha Harper, said they were detained by Phoenix police last month over shoplifting allegations. The important details: The family, including their daughters, ages 1 and 4, were at a Family Dollar Store in Phoenix. As evidenced by videos from bystanders, officers shouted at Ames, put him in a patrol car, and then set their sights on Harper and the children.
Then they pulled out their weapons and threatened to shoot them.
What was this over? The 4-year-old child allegedly took a doll from the Family Dollar, and the parents claim they had no idea. Regardless, it’s a doll. The couple is filing a $10 million lawsuit against the Phoenix police department on grounds of excessive force, as reported by The Washington Post.
“This can happen to anybody,” Ames said in an interview with the Arizona Republic. “I really, really would hate to see that happen to anybody or someone dies over that, because I really feel like my family would have died over this — a Barbie doll.”
Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego has apologized in a statement: “It was completely inappropriate and clearly unprofessional,” the statement reads. “There is no situation in which this behavior is ever close to acceptable. As a mother myself, seeing these children placed in such a terrifying situation is beyond upsetting.”
Still, the couple wants more than the apology, including that the cops in question be fired. But let’s back up and review the specifics first. To be clear: There are inconsistencies between the couple’s story and what the police have reported, so not all details are confirmed or verified.
Note: Videos from bystanders are embedded below, and may be disturbing to viewers.
Here is the video (it’s a thread, containing multiple angles) that has gotten the most traction on Twitter.
After the family left the dollar store, the police followed them in their car. The family was headed to a babysitter’s apartment complex to drop off the kids. At the complex, one of the cops allegedly approached the family’s car with his gun drawn and opened the door.
“I’m going to put a cap in your ass,” one of the cops said to Ames. Meanwhile, another cop was walking to the car, also with his gun drawn. “I’m going to shoot you in your fucking face.”
Oh—and the two kids were still in the back seat at this point.
The cops weren’t wearing body cameras, according to the family’s claim, though the department requires them to do so. The videos were shot by strangers who happened to be passing by when the situation went down.
The first cop removed Ames from his car, slammed his head into the pavement, and handcuffed him. According to the family’s claim, as reported by The Washington Post, it got even more brutal from there. The officer allegedly shouted at him that he had to follow orders. The claim continues that the officer slammed Ames against the car, told him to spread his legs, then “kicked him in the right leg so hard that the father collapsed.” And, it continued, the officer allegedly pulled him upright and punched him in the back. Then, they put him in the patrol car and turned on Harper and the kids.
Remember: This was over a Barbie doll. And a 4-year-old kid. Another thing: As reported by the Phoenix News Times, while the cops clearly did detain the couple, no one was actually arrested or ticketed. The couple was eventually released.
Here’s how the claim states what happened next: "The first officer grabbed the mother and the baby around both of their necks, and tried to take the baby out of the mother’s hand. He told her to put the baby on the ground, which she was unwilling to do because the baby could not walk, and the ground consisted of hot pavement.”
From there, the claim reports that after the cop tried to literally take the 1-year-old from her arms, she passed the kids to a bystander. “I could have shot you in front of your fucking kids,” he allegedly said, after pushing her against the cop car and handcuffing her.
Now? The store has decided not to prosecute the child for shoplifting, so no one is facing charges over it. As reported by ABC News, police claim other stolen items were inside the family’s car (including a pack of underwear) in addition to the doll, and that any item have been returned.
According to police, an officer was at the store coincidentally, because of a shoplifting call unrelated to the family. From there, police say store employees guided the cop to a car that was leaving the lot as he was approaching. The family claims the police who followed them didn’t turn on their lights or sirens, so they were shocked when they realized what was happening at the apartment complex.
As reported by the Daily Dot, Phoenix Police Department Chief Jeri Williams confirmed that an internal investigation is underway. But it’s unclear whether the officers are still on duty. One disparity in the record of events is that police claim the incident occurred on May 27, while the family’s claim says it was May 29.
Phoenix police have not yet released the names of the officers.
Here is an interview the family has done most recently:
And here is an interview the police chief, Jeri Williams, participated in:
"I've seen people shoot up schools and walk up to a police car, and they were treated with better respect than my family was," Ames told AZ Central. Disturbing—and true.