Honestie Hodges, a Black girl who was handcuffed by police at the age of 11 and held at gunpoint in front of her home, has died from COVID-19 three years after the incident, The New York Times reported.
The teen's grandmother, Alisa Niemeyer, confirmed the loss of her loved one on a GoFundMe page.
"It is with an extremely heavy heart that I have to tell all of you that my beautiful, sassy, smart loving Granddaughter has gone home to be with Jesus," Niemeyer wrote on Sunday.
I cannot stop thinking about Honestie Hodges. Violently restrained, detained, traumatized at age 11 by Grand Rapids PD and dead from COVID-19 by 14, whose mom had to seek financial help to be by her side as she fought to live, in a state being contested by this administration. pic.twitter.com/3WoCGa75A4
— Kirsten West Savali (@KWestSavali) November 23, 2020
Honestie was taken to the Helen DeVos Children’s Hospital in Grand Rapids, Michigan, after experiencing stomach pains on Nov. 9, the day of her birthday. After testing positive for COVID-19 at the hospital, the teenager was sent back home. But she had to be taken back to the hospital in an ambulance that same evening as her condition worsened.
The Michigan girl, who faced more complications in the following days, received iron and blood transfusions. As her condition continued to deteriorate, Honestie was placed on a ventilator on Nov. 14.
Niemeyer said her granddaughter had been healthy and happy until this point with no underlying health issues and she had a bright future ahead of her.
“She could have been the vice president one day, or maybe the president,” the heartbroken grandmother said. “The world was open to her.”
Three years ago, Honestie was confronted by police as she was leaving her home with her mother and another family member to go to the store. With guns drawn, police ordered the family to put their hands up as they stepped outside of their home.
Body camera footage captured one officer who ordered the 11-year-old to walk backward toward him with her hands up. Another officer handcuffed the teenager after pulling her arms behind her back.
“No, No, No,” the frightened girl said as she was being handcuffed. Police removed the handcuffs several minutes later. Their explanation was that they were looking for a 40-year-old woman in connection with a stabbing.
The disturbing incident caused the city to examine itself.
“Listening to the 11-year-old’s response makes my stomach turn; it makes me physically nauseous,” David Rahinsky, who was police chief at the time, said at a press conference.
In a written statement following the incident, the retired police chief said none of the officers faced consequences because they didn't violate any departmental policies.
Honestie also spoke out and led an effort to combat racism in Grand Rapids.
“I have a question for the Grand Rapids police: If this happened to a white child, if her mother was screaming, ‘She’s 11,’ would you have handcuffed her and put her in the back of a police car,” the teen said, according to MLive.
The young activist inspired the “Honestie Policy,” which now requires Grand Rapids police to use the least restrictive options when dealing with young people. But other incidents of police pointing guns at children have been reported since the policy passed.
According to WOOD-TV, Hodges and her family were in the midst of negotiating with the city to settle a claim over the handcuffing incident. The community came together on Monday to hold a vigil for the teenager, Michigan Radio reported.
Although COVID-19 deaths are rare among children, Hispanic and Black children are more likely to be hospitalized due to the disease, the CDC reported.
