The Kansas City Police Department has been subject to a bevy of backlash for the way in which they attempted to conduct the arrest of two suspects in connection to a local carjacking. On Friday, two officers tracked down what they believed was a stolen vehicle at the Family Dollar discount store. Just as the cops tried to make contact with the pair, the suspects hopped out and made a run for it. One suspect managed to evade the scene while the other, a pregnant woman named Leonna Hale, ended up getting surrounded by police officers until she surrendered. What happened next has been the topic of debate for the past few days.

According to witnesses on hand, Hale, a 26-year-old pregnant Black woman was allegedly shot five times while she was unarmed. She also reportedly informed the cops that she was pregnant before they gunned her down. There are also reports that Hale may have been shot before she was cuffed and that a gun was within close proximity to her during the encounter. Those facts are still being investigated.  Since the incident took place, several notable activists have spoken out on Twitter in an effort to pressure the Kansas City Police Department into disciplining the officers in question.

"#LeonnaHale is a 26 year old unarmed pregnant Black Woman who was shot five times by Kansas City police on Friday. She had her hands up and told police she could not follow their directions to get on her stomach b/c she was pregnant. There is no reforming this. #AbolitionNow," tweeted Leslie Mac. 

"How many people have to die before y'all realize police can't be reformed?" Wrote Britni Danielle. "Leonna Hale deserved better. We all do."

"She’d have been safer if, instead of being unarmed and pregnant, she were armed in a school shooting children," wrote Steve Cox in reference to the Robb Elementary mass shooting on May 24th.

In response to the onslaught of backlash, KCPD's interim police chief, Joseph Mabin, stated that his department would be "100 percent transparent" with the public while they investigated the two police officers involved in the shooting. In the meantime, each of them has been placed on administrative leave.

According to the Missouri State Highway Patrol, a handgun was recovered from the scene on Friday night. But there it remains unclear if the weapon belonged to Hale or the other suspect involved. Although Hale was seriously injured, her condition is stable. No information has been released on whether or not she lost the baby that she was carrying.

Source: Newsweek