A Colorado district attorney launched an investigation into officers with the Aurora Police Department after they mistakenly detained a Black family at gunpoint and forced four frightened children onto the ground.
18th Judicial District Attorney George Brauchler declared in a statement that no one, not even police officers, are above the law.
‘Public accounts of the incident in a parking lot near Iliff and Buckley are very concerning,’ wrote Brauchler, The Denver Post reports.
‘Everyone is entitled to be treated equally under the law. No one is above the law. If our investigation determines that the officers involved committed a crime, I will not hesitate to file charges and prosecute them.’
DA George Brauchler launched an investigation after officers with the Aurora Police Department mistakenly detained a Black family on Sunday
Brauchler is a Republican and staunch supporter of law enforcement, but he previously criticized the department from protecting an officer found passed in his vehicle after allegedly drinking and driving,
The incident unfolded last Sunday when Brittney Gilliam drove her six-year-old daughter, 12-year-old sister and two nieces, aged 14 and 17, to a nail salon in Aurora.
The group was approached in the parking lot by at least five officers who drew their firearms and handcuffed some of them.
Authorities said they mistakenly pulled over Gilliam’s SUV after a stolen vehicle report listed matching license plates. They later said they had stopped the wrong car and were actually looking for a motorcycle with the same license plate number from Montana.
Video of the children crying and desperately pleading for their mothers while their family is detained sparked outrage across the nation.
The involved officers later said they stopped the wrong vehicle and were looking for a motorcycle with the same license plate numbers in Montanna
It is the latest blow to the Aurora Police Department after the police-involved death of Elijah McClain cast them into the national spotlight amid anti-racism protests.
The DA’s investigation into officers’ response will be separate from the criminal investigation that began.
Police Chief Vanessa Wilson said the department is cooperating with the investigation and, in fact, she welcomes it.
‘I also recognize and share the concern over what transpired which is why I immediately ordered an internal affairs investigation,’ the statement said.
‘I have promised transparency to a community who not only demands it, but deserves it.’
Earlier this week, Wilson announced that she would review the department’s training and protocols due to the incident.
She admitted to The Denver Post that dispatched officers made two mistakes in their handling and detainment of the family.
One, they did not verify the license plate number in the National Crime Information Center to double check the information on the stolen motorcycle.
Two, the officer should not have made the children lie on the ground despite the department’s policy to treat stolen vehicle interactions as high-risk.
According to Wilson, the officers should have thoroughly assessed the situation and adjusted their actions.
Both District Attorney George Brauchler and Police Chief Vanessa Wilson have condemned officer’s actions after video surfaced on social media
After the incident was revealed, Wilson issued an apology to the family on behalf of the department.
‘We have been training our officers that when they contact a suspected stolen car, they should do what is called a high-risk stop,’ she wrote.
‘This involves drawing their weapons and ordering all occupants to exit the car and lie prone on the ground.’
‘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.
In response, Gilliam and her family released their own statement that called for reform at the Aurora Police Department.
‘We expect policing in our communities to reflect our values. Far too often in Aurora, it has not,’ the statement read.
‘The Aurora Police Department needs a fresh start, and we are encouraged by the partnership we have started to build with Chief Wilson.
Brittney Gilliam (pictured): ”The Aurora Police Department needs a fresh start, and we are encouraged by the partnership we have started to build with Chief Wilson’
‘We urge her to move quickly to transform the culture of the force, hold officers accountable, and bring much-needed reform to the department.’
Additionally, Gilliam told The Denver Post that such an incident would never have happened to a white family,
Now, Gilliam said she understands the Black Lives Matter and anti-racism protesters who have called for the police department to be reformed.
A reckoning against the Aurora Police Department, and the law enforcement institution as a whole, sparked three months ago when George Floyd was killed in police custody on Memorial Day in Minneapolis.
The viral footage of Floyd pleading ‘I can’t breathe’ while a white officer knelt on his neck for nearly nine minutes galvanized Americans to protest police brutality.
Last week, bystander footage emerged on social media showing the moment Aurora Police officers in Colorado arrested a driver and a group of young girls in the parking lot of a thrift store on Sunday morning.
The Aurora Police department released a statement apologizing to the family over the mix-up
The shocking video clip shows the family lying on their stomachs with their hands behind their backs in broad daylight as officers escort them into police vehicles.
The four children can be heard screaming and crying throughout the arrest.
The incident was a case of mistaken identity after cops believed the car had been stolen because it matched the license plate number and description they were given.
They later determined they had stopped the wrong car and were actually looking for a motorcycle with the same license plate number from Montana.
‘There’s no excuse why you [cops] didn’t handle it a different type of way,’ Gilliam told 9News.
‘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.’
Gilliam said the vehicle was stolen in February but was found the following day.
The family, who has filed a complaint, is now being represented by Denver attorney David Lane, the law partner of Elijah McClain’s family lawyer Mari Newman, according to 9News.
The Aurora Police Department has come under fire over the last few months following the death of 23-year-old black man Elijah McClain last year
McClain was placed in a lethal chokehold by Aurora cops after he was stopped while walking home on August 24, 2019. Police confronted McClain after receiving reports of a man who looked ‘sketchy’
McClain was placed in a lethal chokehold by Aurora police officers on August 24, 2019, after he had been stopped while walking home at night.
Police were called to the scene after receiving reports of a man wearing a ski mask ‘acting sketchy’ and flailing his arms.
McClain, a massage therapist described by friends and family as an ‘oddball, vegetarian, athlete, and peacemaker’ who loved animals, was handcuffed and placed in a carotid control hold, restricting his bloodflow, before losing consciousness.
Paramedics later sedated him with ketamine, sending him into cardiac arrest. He was declared brain dead and removed from life support six days later.