An apology was issued by the Aurora Police Department after a video surfaced of officers drawing guns on a black family. The officers mistook the car for a reported stolen car which had five unarmed civilians.
Reported by TMZ “Video of the Sunday incident shows Brittney Gilliam being led away from the car in handcuffs, while other members of her family — her 6-year-old daughter, 12-year-old sister and 14 and 17-year-old nieces — are lying on their stomachs in the parking lot.”
In the video, screams, and crying can be heard as this black family is not only uncomfortable but in fear for their lives. Gilliam stated the car was stolen in February but eventually returned to her possession the next day. Just with that one minor mistake, this is exactly why many white officers have an internal issue with making assumptions rather than listening.
In an interview with CNN, Gilliam said she was taking the girls to get their nails done. While in the parking lot, she said officers came up from behind their vehicle, got out, and aimed their guns yelling for them to put their hands out of the window and get out of the car.
Officers received a call about a stolen car according to the Aurora PD. Nevertheless, the plate numbers were the same but for a registered stolen motorcycle in Montana. If this were four black men, chances are the outcome would’ve been different. Protocol or training like this is unnecessary since black people have been subjected to the fears and repeated cycle at the hands of many police departments.
Gilliam also went on to address how she was told officers handcuff kids when they get hostile.
“If you wanted to place me in handcuffs at that point, I would have gladly agreed to that because you had a job to do and you did it under the right protocol, but you pointed a gun at four kids and then you proceeded to start handcuffing the kids.”
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