Aurora Police Department Apologizes Over Disturbing Video Of Officers Handcuffing Black Family

The Aurora Police Department has apologized after they pulled over and handcuffed at least two Black girls on Sunday and detained the other occupants in the car over a stolen vehicle investigation.

The officers later determined that the stolen vehicle was a motorcycle that had the same license plate number as the car but was from out of state, Associated Press reported.

In a video filmed by a bystander, several of the children, who ranged from the age of 6 to 17 years, were seen lying on their stomachs in a parking lot as officers stood over them.

Officers handcuffed the 17-year-old and 12-year-old and had them lying on their stomachs. Nearby the 14-year-old girl held hands with the 6-year-old as they lied on their stomachs. Another female can be seen handcuffed as an officer walks her out of frame.

The children can also be heard screaming and crying throughout the video. Eventually, the police help the children sit up but do not remove the handcuffs.

The cops later realized that the car they stopped had Colorado plates, and the stolen motorcycle had the same license plate number but was from Montana.

Brittney Gilliam, the driver of the vehicle revealed that she was upset with the way the officers chose to handle their investigation. “There’s no excuse why you didn’t handle it’s a different type of way,” Gilliam said.

“You could have even told them, ‘Step off to the side let me ask your mom or your auntie a few questions so we can get this cleared up.’ There was different ways to handle it.”

Since the incident occurred, Vanessa Wilson, the interim police chief, issued an apology.

“I have called the family to apologize and to offer any help we can provide, especially for the children who may have been traumatized by yesterday’s events. I have reached out to our victim advocates so we can offer age-appropriate therapy that the city will cover,” she said in a statement.

Wilson claimed that officers are trained to do a “high-risk stop,” which could involve having the occupants of the vehicle lying on the ground and drawing their weapons.

As a result of the incident, Wilson has instructed the department to come up with new methods and training for the various situations they may have to deal with.