UPDATE: Aurora PD Apologizes For Placing Black Family In Cuffs Over Stolen Vehicle “Mix-Up”
Earlier this Tuesday, we shared the shocking clip of Colorado Police detaining a family in a parking lot. The video even showed children in cuffs as they laid on their stomachs as officers gave them orders. At the time, details on the incident weren’t fully clear but CNN has provided an update.
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Brittney Gilliam spoke with the news site and shared that the incident took place on Sunday. Gilliam said she had taken her 6-year-old daughter, 12-year-old sister and 14 and 17-year-old nieces to get their nails done and were sitting in the parking lot with the car turned off when cops approached from behind. She says the officers had their weapons drawn and told them to put their hands out of the window and exit the vehicle.
From there, Gilliam and the 2 others were placed in cuffs as cops accused her of being in a vehicle. As TMZ notes, she says she explained to them it WAS stolen back in February but returned to her, and had all of the documentation for the vehicle. Cops then realized their mistake.
Interim Chief of Police Vanessa Wilson says she’s called Gilliam’s family “to apologize and to offer any help we can provide, especially for the children who may have been traumatized” by the incident.
“I have reached out to our victim advocates so we can offer age-appropriate therapy that the city will cover.” The department added, “The confusion may have been due, in part, to the fact that the stopped car was reported stolen earlier in the year. After realizing the mistake, officers immediately unhandcuffed everyone involved, explained what happened and apologized.”
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