5 children taken from Black family after traffic stop returned home
The children had been in Tennessee state care for nearly two months, placed in three separate homes before a family friend in Nashville took them in, consenting to act as a temporary foster parent.
Five Black children are now back home in Georgia with their parents after being taken from them following a traffic stop in Tennessee nearly two months ago.
State troopers stopped Bianca Clayborne and Deonte Williams in Coffee County on Feb. 17 for having “dark tint and traveling in the left lane while not actively passing” as they traveled from their suburban Atlanta home to a funeral in Chicago. According to the Tennessee Lookout, the Tennessee Department of Children’s Service subsequently took custody of the couple’s children, ages 7, 5, 3, 2, and 4 months old. The infant was still nursing
The Tennessee Highway Patrol detained Williams for possession after an officer reported smelling marijuana during the stop and discovering five grams while searching the family’s vehicle. Marijuana possession is a misdemeanor offense in Tennessee, the Lookout reports.
THP cited Clayborne but allowed her to leave with the kids. The mother has called the traffic stop a terrifying experience for her and her children.
Three DCS caseworkers greeted Clayborne as she and her youngsters arrived at the Coffee County Justice Center so she could post bond for Williams.
Social workers instructed her to leave the children in her car, go inside and provide a urine sample. Clayborne declined, alleging she was terrified to leave her kids with state caseworkers alone, prompting officers to put spike strips around the vehicle.
Clayborne claimed she offered to perform a urine test inside their Dodge, yet could not produce one.
Area caseworkers and police officers surrounded Clayborne when she brought her five children inside the judicial facility to post bond, then took the children away.
Since then, the kids had stayed in foster care. They were separated among three homes before being taken in by a family friend in Nashville who consented to act as a temporary foster parent to all five.
The case prompted concerns about whether DCS acted appropriately when one parent faced accusations of a misdemeanor infraction — and whether the family experienced different treatment because they are Black.
Clayborne was unaware that DCS officials received an emergency order to take custody of the children. The order alleged probable cause of neglect and officials claimed there was nothing “less drastic” that they could do, according to the Lookout.
Days later, when the parents showed up in a Coffee County courthouse to try to get their kids back, they were ordered to submit to urine drug tests. Clayborne’s test for THC, the active ingredient in marijuana, was negative, and Williams tested positive. Both their tests returned positive for methamphetamines, fentanyl and oxycodone, but they denied using the narcotics.
An unknown party subsequently requested fast-turnaround hair follicle tests from the couple. A Coffee County administrator said the quick follicle test performed is not admissible in court as they are notorious for creating false positives.
DCS filed an amended allegation for severe child abuse against the couple based on the instant test results, the Lookout reported. The couple’s lawyers later subpoenaed the test, but DCS lawyer Sheila Younglove said it was no longer available.
DCS officials filed prosecution and sanctions motions against the embattled family after they shared details about the proceedings happening in juvenile court.
“The gag order is still in effect,” a DCS spokesperson said when asked to comment on the reunification of the family, according to the Lookout. “We would refer you to the juvenile court.”
Before taking custody of the children, the DCS had asserted that the youngsters revealed their father was known as the “weed man,” knew how to roll joints, and said their parents took them on drug deals. Williams referred to the allegations as “absolute lunacy.”
Courtney Teasley, the family’s attorney, said that all five children returned home to Georgia on Thursday to be with their parents.
“The family is planning a celebration in their hometown,” Teasley said, according to the Lookout, adding that a news conference and celebration would be held in Nashville once “the family has gotten to enjoy time together and reclaim so much unnecessary lost time.”
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