Parents Dravon Ames and Iesha Harper say their family will never view p*olice the same after their encounter with Phoenix o*fficers last month. (CBS 5 / video screenshot)
An African-American family says they’re “t*raumatized” after Phoenix p*olice o*fficers’ v*iolent response to an a*lleged shopl*ifting i*ncident late last month.
Now, they’re taking the department to c*ourt for $10 million.
A notice of claim filed last Thursday a*ccuses Phoenix o*fficers of engaging in p*olice b*rutality, wrongful imp*risonment and civil rights v*iolations when they roughed up a 22-year-old father and pointed a g*un at his fiancée and their two children while i*nvestigating a report of a th*eft, according to CBS 5. The harrowing i*ncident was reportedly sparked by a toy doll mistakenly swiped from a Family Dollar store.
According to the notice, couple Dravon Ames and Iesha Harper did not realize their 4-year-old daughter had taken the doll until they were in the car. The family drove to their babysitter’s home at a nearby apartment complex, where a p*olice car pulled up behind them with “no sirens or lights,” c*ourt documents state.
The family said that’s when an o*fficer approached Ames, who was in the driver’s seat, pulled his g*un on him and th*reatened to “put a c*ap in your a*ss.” The o*fficer also said, “I’m gonna sh*oot you in your (expletive) face,” according to the claim.
The couple’s 1-year-old and 4-year-old daughters were in the back seat at the time.
“We’re talking about a little doll that’s worth maybe $5 and the h*orrors that came from the overreaction to that,” said Tom Horne, a former Arizona attorney general who’s representing the family.
W*itness video of the i*ncident, released by the Phoenix P*olice Department last week, shows one o*fficer s*lam a handc*uffed Ames, 22, against a marked p*olice car before ki*cking the v*ictim’s leg out from under him, c*ausing him to stumble.
“When I tell you to do something, you f—–g do it!” the o*fficer sh*outs, a*ccusing the man of not complying with his commands.
Ames insisted he wasn’t resisting, but said that didn’t stop the o*fficer from d*ragging him out of his car, k*icking him and p*unching him in the back.
“He k*icked me p*retty h*ard,” Ames told CBS 5. “I’m still l*imping.”
Meanwhile, a second o*fficer is seen on video approaching the s*uspect’s car with his g*un drawn, after which Harper e*merges with her two young girls. The o*fficer p*ulls her to the side, where they talk for a few moments before the o*fficer tries handc*uffing her.
Harper, who is five months pregnant, is heard s*creaming and t*rying to get away as the o*fficer reaches for her children. The woman claims the o*fficer told her, “I could have sh*t you in front of your f—–g kids,” according to the f*iling.
“After this, me and my daughters will never be the same anymore or feel the same for p*lice because it seems like every p*olice is out for b*lood or something,” Harper told the station.
“We wasn’t really doing anything.”
In their f*iling, the parents said the i*ncident has caused their kids emotional distress and that their 4-year-old now s*uffers from n*ightmares.
A portion of the h*arrowing i*ncident was caught on video, however, the couple said nearly 10 minutes had passed from when the o*fficers first approached and when bystanders started recording.
Both parents were detained, but no ch*arges were f*iled after the store declined to p*rosecute after the s*tolen property was returned, p*olice said.
Video of the i*ncident sparked widespread backlash, as well as calls for the o*fficers involved to be f*ired. The situation even drew a response from Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego, who called the recordings “deeply d*isturbing.”
“I am deeply sorry for what this family went through, and I apologize to our community,” Gallego said on Twitter. “This is not who we are, and I refuse to allow this type of behavior to go unchallenged.”
Gallego went on to b*last the o*ficers’ behavior as “completely inappropriate and clearly unprofessional,” and said as a result, the city will be quickening its efforts to equip its entire p*olice force with body-worn cameras.
She has also scheduled a community meeting with the city’s chief of p*olice.
“We owe it to our residents to give them an open forum to discuss their concerns with us and to propose solutions,” she said.
P*olice Chief Jeri Williams also reacted to the i*ncident and said an internal i*nvestigation into the matter is underway.
“I, like you, am di*sturbed by the language and the actions of our o*fficer,” Williams said in a video posted to Facebook last week. “I assure you that this i*ncident isn’t representative of the majority of Phoenix p*olice o*fficers who serve this city.”
In their version of events, the department said o*fficers were at Family Dollar i*nvestigating another shopl*ifting i*ncident when they were tipped off by an employee just as Ames and Harper’s car was leaving the store parking lot. P*olice followed them.
O*fficers approached the couple at a nearby apartment complex, ordering the parents to show their hands. In an i*ncident report, officers wrote that they f*eared the pair was a*rmed because Ames “began to reach towards the center of the vehicle between the front seats” and Harper refused to show her hands.
“I f*eared that she was hiding something or reaching for a w*eapon,” the o*fficer wrote, adding that Harper later became “l*oud” and v*erbally a*busive.”
No w*eapons were recovered from the family’s car.
Although no one was a*rrested, authorities said Ames’ car was i*mpounded because he was driving on a suspended license.
In her statement, Williams said, “I stand by my commitment of transparency and accountability as we continue to complete this internal i*nvestigation.”
Watch more in the video HERE.