Family mistakenly held at gunpoint by Texas police say the stop traumatized the kids in the car
A Black woman from Arkansas who was held at gunpoint along with three family members when Texas police wrongly suspected their car was stolen says she decided to speak out after seeing video from a passerby and realizing two officers had aimed firearms at her 13-year-old son while his hands were up
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.A Black woman from Arkansas who was held at gunpoint along with three family members when Texas police wrongly suspected their car was stolen said Thursday that she decided to speak out after seeing video from a passerby and realizing two officers had aimed firearms at her 13-year-old son while his hands were up.
“I was there present in that moment, but where they had me I couldn't see everything, so when I seen that video it really broke me, it really broke me bad,” Demetria Heard said during a news conference in Little Rock.
Police in the Dallas suburb of Frisco have apologized and acknowledged that during the July 23 traffic stop, an officer misread the Dodge Charger's license plate as the family left a hotel to go to a basketball tournament.
Heard was driving, and her son, 12-year-old nephew and husband, Myron Heard, were passengers. Family members of the two boys say they have been traumatized and are reluctant to talk about what happened.
“We all make mistakes, but notice your mistake before they've got several guns on my family,” Myron Heard said.
“This escalated to 1,000 when it could have stayed at .5,” he said.
Body camera video from the stop showed that more than seven minutes passed before officers holstered their weapons after recognizing their mistake. They apologized repeatedly, with one saying they responded with guns drawn because it’s “the normal way we pull people out of a stolen car.” Another assured the family that they were in no danger because they followed the officers’ orders.
The officer who initiated the stop and was among those who drew their weapons was also Black. She explained that when she checked the license plate, “I ran it as AZ for Arizona instead of AR” for Arkansas.
“This is all my fault, OK,” the officer said, as captured by the video. “I apologize for this. I know it’s very traumatic for you, your nephew and your son. Like I said, it’s on me.”
But Demetria Heard said that she felt that the officer seemed dismissive, not apologetic.
“You didn't even seem genuine at all," Heard said. “You were just trying to plead your case.”
Subscribe to Independent Premium to bookmark this article
Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today.