Frisco, Texas, cops say sorry after pulling over Black family with guns drawn
The July 23 incident unfolded after a Frisco officer noticed and scanned an out-of-state license plate, incorrectly entering the vehicle as being from Arizona rather than Arkansas.
The police chief of Frisco, Texas, apologized Friday after a Black family from Little Rock, Arkansas, was mistakenly pulled over in a “high-risk stop” by officers with their guns drawn.
The incident unfolded on July 23 as the family traveled that Sunday to a basketball tournament in Grapevine, Texas, CNN reported. According to a press release from the Frisco Police Department, “recent burglaries and vehicle thefts in which Chargers are frequently stolen” led one of its officers to notice and scan the out-of-state license plate of a black Dodge Charger as the vehicle was leaving a hotel.
But the officer incorrectly entered the license plate information as being from Arizona rather than Arkansas, resulting in an inaccurate registration return and reason to suspect the car was swiped.
The officer then launched a “high-risk traffic stop” on the Dallas North Tollway as he awaited the arrival of additional officers. According to the department, officers closed the tollway’s southbound lanes and followed “standard procedure for stolen vehicles.”
In a statement released on Friday, Frisco Police Chief David Shilson admitted they had made a major error.
“Our department will not hide from its mistakes,” Shilson claimed, according to CNN. “Instead, we will learn from them. The officer involved quickly accepted responsibility for what happened, which speaks to integrity. I’ve spoken with the family. I empathize with them and completely understand why they’re upset.”
The department also released body camera footage from two officers on Friday, showing the mother, who was driving, and her son, a sixth grader who was in the backseat, being told to “slowly exit the vehicle.” The officers also ordered the remaining passengers to put their hands out of the car window.
“If you reach in that car, you may get shot, so be careful,” an officer tells the mother after she informs them her licensed handgun is in the glove department. “Do not reach in the car.”
The officer who initiated the stop is shown on the body camera video taking the mother aside and asking her about the license plates on her car. The woman identifies the children in the backseat as her son and nephew. The driver’s husband, who was in the passenger seat, can be heard telling a second officer they’re riding in his wife’s vehicle to a basketball tournament.
“I got conceal carry,” he added. “Y’all put a gun on my son for no reason.”
A Frisco police sergeant arrived, and officers realized an “honest mistake” had been made. The officer tells the family, “It looks like I made a mistake,” as the sergeant orders officers to disperse and cancel the high-risk stop.
“It could have gone all wrong for us,” the father replies. He then turns away from the police officers and begins to cry.
Police launched the incident review the same day to ascertain “what happened, how it was managed, and to evaluate what needed to be addressed to prevent this from happening in the future,” according to the statement. Authorities said they will also determine the need for more adjustments to the department’s training, guidelines and procedures.
“We’re so sorry that happened like this. We had no intent on doing this, you know?” an officer told the family after the misstep was discovered, CNN reported. “We’re humans as well, and we make mistakes. I’m not justifying anything; I’m just saying, like, it wasn’t a computer that ran it. It was our human error that did this. So please forgive us.”
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