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Dravon Ames and fiancee Iesha Harper told CNN that they did not notice anything when their daughter was out with a Barbie shop last month. They filed a notice of claim against the city for $ 10 million, which serves as a precursor to a lawsuit.
Shortly after leaving the store, Ames stated that the couple had been brought into a building to drop their daughter to a babysitter. Then an officer started banging against their window, shouting and threatening to kill them.
"Our hands are up, we're just trying not to get shot, we're trying to stay calm," said Ames. "He had a rifle unsheathed."
Ames stated that there were no sirens or lights to indicate that they had been stopped before and that the officer who had pointed them a gun had not been there. not immediately identified as an officer.
The incident took place on May 29, the family said. Police said they knew of a video on June 11.
In the blurry 12-minute video posted on the ministry's Facebook page, an officer is handcuffing Ames, first on the ground, then against a police car. The officer kicks at Ames and can be heard shouting repeatedly: "When I tell you to do something, you do ****** do it."
Another officer appears to be firing a pistol at the passenger side of the couple's vehicle before Harper leaves the vehicle, holding a small child with a second child at his side.
We see a policeman trying to pull the child's arms before a passerby offers to take his children.
Harper, who was five months pregnant at the time, said she was terrified.
"I really thought he was going to shoot me in front of the kids," she told CNN by phone on Friday. She chose to give her two children to "a perfect stranger because I did not trust the police to have her".
During the video, we can hear police officers telling him to raise their hands in the air.
The city has 60 days to respond to the claim notice and the next step is filing a complaint, said Thomas Horne, the family's attorney. In his notification, he stated that the police had among other things charged a person and illegally imprisoned and that the police department and the city were responsible for "improper policies, training and controls".
The investigation department
Authorities said the incident was under investigation.
"The Phoenix Police Service takes all allegations of misconduct seriously and, for this reason, the Office of Professional Standards is currently investigating this incident," the department said.
It is not clear who recorded the video or what happened before. There is no video of the body of the incident, the sergeant from the Phoenix Police Department. Tommy Thompson told CNN.
Thompson said that they can not provide additional information because of a pending litigation.
Thompson also told the affiliate that the claim of the stolen doll went beyond what she claimed, but that she would not explain it. The affiliate reported that the police had stated that there were other stolen objects in the vehicle in addition to the doll.
While, according to the family's complaint, the incident occurred "around May 29", the police statement said it was May 27.
The police chief is "disturbed" by the action of the officer
In a video posted Friday on the ministry's Facebook page, Phoenix police chief Jeri Williams said she was "disturbed by the language and actions of our officer."
"I assure you that this incident is not representative of the majority of Phoenix police officers who serve this city," Williams said.
The chief stated that she had started an "immediate internal investigation" as soon as she had read the video.
"I hope that investigations can be processed instantly, but each takes time and deserves due diligence before we can discuss specific details," she said.
Harper and Ames say their two daughters are traumatized and their 4 year old son has nightmares and wets the bed since the incident.
Their second daughter, who was barely one year old, suffered a "dead arm" after the officer attempted to remove her from her mother.
The couple is still shaken. Ames said that he was worried for his children and that he felt helpless during the incident.
"I'm supposed to protect my family, I'm handcuffed … I hear my daughter screaming, my fiancee is being managed, she has broken me so much," he said.
Reverend Jarrett Maupin, a family spokesman, told CNN that Ames was lucky to be alive.
"He was totally docile, even submissive enough to save him from the ferocious violence of the police department," said Maupin.
The couple claims that they were both released shortly after arrest and that they were not charged.
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