A viral video coming out of Aurora, CO shows local law enforcement detaining a black family, at gunpoint, and handcuffing young children in the process of investigating a potentially stolen vehicle. According to reports, the vehicle police were actually looking for was a motorcycle. However, this crucial detail wasn't disclosed to the public until after the traumatic incident had already occurred.
The person who recorded the incident, Jenni Wurtz, said “Why are you now placing these children on the ground face into the concrete? It's hot! In front of all of us? Screaming at them. They are telling you they are hurt,” after police ordered the family out of the vehicle at gunpoint. "That makes me very mad because I am not anti-police. I’m anti what happened yesterday, and that was ridiculous,” said Wurtz.
After the family was already handcuffed and face-down on the concrete, officers ran the plates which they discovered did not match the vehicle they were searching for. Moreover, the scanner revealed that the stolen vehicle was, in fact, a motorcycle. Despite the obvious error on part of the officers, Interim Chief Wilson thought this was the fault of the scanners. “I totally understand that anger, and don’t want to diminish that anger, but I will say it wasn’t a profiling incident. It was a hit that came through the system, and they have a picture of the vehicle the officers saw,” said Wilson.
By Monday, Wilson and the Aurora Police Department were issuing an apology for their actions.
"We first want to offer our apologies to the family involved in the traumatic incident involving a police stop of their vehicle yesterday.
"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," Wilson said in the statement. "I have called the family to apologize and to offer any help we can provide, especially for the children who may have been traumatized by yesterday's events. I have reached out to our victim advocates so we can offer age-appropriate therapy [that] the city will cover."
Source: thedenverchannel.com
