Unarmed 11-Year-Old Girl Held At Gunpoint By Police
Honestie, an 11-year-old resident of Grand Rapids, Michigan was confronted by police officers who held her at gunpoint as she exited her house to go to the store.
The incident caused much controversy in the community, pushing the pre-teen's family to file a complaint with the Grand Rapids Police Department. The department launched an internal investigation on the police officers who manhandled the pre-teen and even threw her in the back of their car.
How The Incident Unfolded
The altercation happened on Wednesday, December 13, when police were looking for Honestie's aunt who was suspected of stabbing a relative at a nearby location. When the police didn't find her aunt, they detained Honestie, her mother, and another unidentified woman. In a news report from Eyewitness News, Honestie's mother shared that law enforcement told her daughter to come down their porch with her hands up.
"The whole time they are telling her to come down, I'm telling them, 'She's 11 years old. That's my daughter. Don't cuff her,'" Honestie's mother Whitney Hodges said."It made me feel scared and it made me feel like I did something wrong," the pre-teen told news reporters. "I'm afraid to open or go near my back door because of what happened."
Police Chief David Rahinsky said watching the police body-camera footage of Honestie being treated by his employees in such a way was "disturbing." He also shared changes need to be made to how police officers perform arrest procedures, especially on children.
Police Statements
The police officers released a statement saying they handcuffed Honestie and her mother because they didn't know if they were suspects in the stabbing case. They also mentioned that the women were not armed. "The 11-year-old was handcuffed for a total of 2 minutes while she was brought back into the alley and patted down to make sure that she did not have anything dangerous on her," Grand Rapids Police Department spokeswoman Cathy Williams said.
The police department released a clip of the body-camera footage and Honestie is seen screaming as police officers pointed a gun at her and her mother.
It is reported that the officers involved were not placed on administrative leave. They are still working their normal schedules.
Watch Honestie's interview about the traumatizing event, below.
