The Washington Post:
On May 29, Dravon Ames and his fiancee, Iesha Harper, said they went on a family outing with their two children, London, 1, and Island, 4. Without their knowledge, Island took a doll from a Family Dollar Store, according to a notice of claim dated Wednesday that was filed by former Arizona attorney general Thomas Horne, who is representing Ames and Harper.
A police patrol unit followed the couple’s car. Once the family members entered their babysitter’s apartment complex, an officer approached the vehicle with his gun drawn and yanked open the front door, the claim said.
Despite department rules that require police to wear body cameras, the Phoenix officers were not wearing them, the claim said. But passersby recorded the encounter. The police released one video this week, but there are others online.
“I’m going to put a cap in your a–,” one officer said to Ames as a second policeman, whose weapon was also drawn and pointed at Ames, walked up to the car, the video shows. “I’m going to shoot you in your f—ing face.”
Both statements, Horne wrote in the claim, were made in front of the couple’s children, who were in the rear of the vehicle.
The first officer — who has not yet been named by the department — pulled Ames, 22, from the car, pushed his head to the pavement, handcuffed him and yelled that Ames better follow orders, according to the claim. The officer threw Ames against the car, ordered him to spread his legs and “kicked him in the right leg so hard that the father collapsed.” Then, the officer dragged him upright and punched him in the back, the claim said.
Once Ames was handcuffed and inside the patrol car, the officers focused their attention on Harper and the children, according to the claim.
The two officers pointed their weapons at the visibly pregnant 24-year-old Harper and her children, the video shows and the claim stated.
“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,” the claim alleged. “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.”
The officer tried to rip Harper’s youngest child from her arms, the claim stated. Eventually he threw Harper, who had handed the children to a bystander, into the police car face first and then handcuffed her.
“I could have shot you in front of your f—ing kids,” he said, according to the claim.
“The notice of claim alleged that the police officers “committed battery, unlawful imprisonment, false arrest, infliction of emotional distress, and violation of civil rights under the fifth and 14th amendments of the United States Constitution.” Horne told The Washington Post that the city has 60 days to respond before he files the lawsuit.”
I think that’s a short list, which could have included assault with a deadly weapon, trespassing, stalking and harassment, unlawful threats, etc., etc.
The pathetic Phoenix mayor, Kate Gallego, apologized.
“I am deeply sorry for what this family went through, and I apologize to our community,” Gallego said on Twitter Saturday evening. “This is not who we are, and I refuse to allow this type of behavior to go unchallenged.”
Hey Kate, you’re a liar. The ranks of cops everywhere are filled with sociopaths who think they’re on a mission from Stalin, and you’re not going to do a damn thing about it. “Unchallenged.” What does that even mean?
She’s acting like this is some sort of family squabble where one errant child needs to be corrected for fighting with another child.
Here’s a news flash for you Kate. This has to do with criminal activity. These cops are sociopathic criminals. They don’t just need to lose their jobs – they need to be imprisoned for what they did. No financial remuneration will suffice, because that means taxpayers are on the hook. No, there is retribution, and without it, you’re just another cog in the machine.
