Police in Aurora, Colorado detained a Black family, including one adult and four children, on Sunday morning after mistaking their vehicle, a blue SUV, for a stolen motorcycle from out of state, as reported by The Washington Post. Police Chief Vanessa Wilson has since apologized and blamed the license plate scanner.
The girls in the video, who are between 6 and 17-years-old and were a combination of siblings and cousins, were instructed to get face down on the ground. Two were handcuffed. One of the girls in the video can be heard crying out: “I want my mother,” and repeatedly asking to have her sister next to her.
Witness Jenni Wurtz recorded a video of the incident, which has since gone viral. You can view the video below on Twitter. As a warning, it may be upsetting to watch and listen to.
Wurtz, who reportedly filed a complaint with internal affairs about the incident, told local outlet KUSA that she is ”not anti-police,” but she is “anti what happened yesterday, and that was ridiculous.”
Brittney Gilliam, the driver of the SUV who had been taking the girls to get their nails done, stated to KUSA: “There’s no excuse why you didn’t handle it a different type of way. You could have even told them, 'Step off to the side let me ask your mom or your auntie a few questions so we can get this cleared up.’”
When speaking to CNN, Gilliam said she and the girls were parked in the parking lot of the nail salon when police pulled up and instructed them to put their hands out the window and get out of the car. Gilliam added to CNN that she was not told why she was pulled over until they handcuffed her.
Gilliam told local outlet CBS 4: “I’m livid. I’m angry.” She continued: “That was a traumatic experience. Would your kids be OK after that? Having a gun pulled on them and laid on the ground. Especially a 6 year old.”
In a prepared statement, Wilson said: “We have been training our officers that when they contact a suspected stolen car, they should do what is called a high-risk stop. This involves drawing their weapons and ordering all occupants to exit the car and lie prone on the ground. But we must allow our officers to have discretion and to deviate from this process when different scenarios present themselves. I have already directed my team to look at new practices and training.”
She added that she called the family to apologize, and reached out to victim advocates to offer “age-appropriate therapy” that the city “will cover.”
You can see the footage, and some local news coverage including interviews, below.