A Michigan mother is calling for change after her children were handcuffed at gunpoint before being released without charges, the Miami Herald reports.
The Grand Rapids incident happened on the night of October 9, according to WZZM 13. An unknown person called 911 to report an active shooter; police arrived at Rennae Wooten's home and forced the mother and her four children to exit the building as they searched for the gunman.
Once outside, Wooten's 12-year-old daughter was handcuffed.
“They put her on her knees and put her in cuffs,” Wooten said. “After they got done checking her, they said, 'How old are you?' She said, '12.' That’s when an officer said, 'Take her out of the handcuffs.'”
Police also searched a 10-year-boy, searched the girl's grandmother and handcuffed another woman.
After investigating the scene, police determined the call was a false alarm.
Police Chief David Rahinsky defended the officers' actions, saying, "Officers did as they were trained to do."
Wooten believes the officers would not have done as they are trained had her family been of a different race and said, "I want justice."
“If it was somebody white, it probably would have been a little different,” Wooten continued. “She probably wouldn’t have been handcuffed. She is traumatized. She can’t sleep. She doesn’t even want to go to school.”
A Grand Rapids Police Department spokeswoman confirmed an internal investigation is underway, including officer body camera review.
Wooten's daughter is the fourth innocent Black child to be handcuffed by Grand Rapids police since March 2017.
In December 2017, the department implemented the Honestie Policy to improve police officer relations with children, named after 11-year-old Honestie Hodges who was handcuffed by officers during their search for a violent crime suspect.
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