The city of Grand Rapids, Michigan, has agreed to pay the family of Honestie Hodges $285,000 to settle a federal lawsuit Hodges’ family filed against the city.
In 2017, Hodges, who was 11 years old at the time, was handcuffed, held at gunpoint and placed in a police cruiser outside of her home by officers who were looking for Hodges’ aunt, who was involved in a domestic assault. Hodges, her mother and another relative were headed to the grocery store when the incident occurred.
Hodges died in 2020 due to complications from COVID-19. She was 14.
“While no monetary settlement can undo or repair the fear, trauma, and lasting impact experienced by the child involved, this resolution represents an important measure of justice and acknowledgment of harm,” the Hodges’ family attorneys in a press release shared on Wednesday (Jan. 28). “It also underscores the principle that children are entitled to protections under the law, particularly during police interactions that carry an inherent risk of trauma.”
The family’s attorneys alleged in the federal lawsuit that the officers conducted an unreasonable search and seizure, used excessive force, participated in assault and battery, false imprisonment and that the Grand Rapids Police Department failed to train and supervise officers.
“Honestie Hodges suffered serious mental anguish, anxiety, emotional distress, a sense of outrage, loss of social pleasure and enjoyment and death,’’ the lawsuit claimed.
In March 2018, the Grand Rapids Police Department Task Force enacted the “Honesite Policy,” also known as the “Youth Interactions Policy.” The policy was revised in December 2018 and cited specific definitions for youths and juveniles along with specific guidelines for handcuffing youths and putting them in police cruisers. It also sets new guidelines for when arrests should be made and instructs officers to document anytime a child is handcuffed and to alert a supervisor.
The $285,000 settlement still must be approved in court.
