Shanice Stewart, a pregnant mother, expressed her fury after being stopped over by police. The reason for this was that they thought her son, Brandon, was a wanted juvenile.
The horrific ordeal occurred at 5 p.m. on October 17. A tense atmosphere was created as multiple police cars surrounded her vehicle and a chopper hovered overhead. Officers appeared from their patrol trucks, pistols drawn, and approached her.
She added that the experience has not only traumatized her son, but she is also afraid to drive on the expressway. According to her, the ordeal began when she observed a police car with its lights on behind her. She moved to the left shoulder of the road, believing the police needed to pass. Her uneasiness was heightened when four additional police cars joined the first, further complicating the situation.
When the officers flagged her down, Stewart wondered if it was for a driving violation. She said she drove on the right side of the road, but her concern intensified when she observed a helicopter hovering above her car.
In a Facebook post, she expressed her frustration, stating, “They had the freeway at a complete stop to pull me over while I’m pregnant with my 8-year-old child in the car,” as reported by the Daily Mail.
Stewart stated that she opted to cooperate with the authorities following the uncomfortable halt. She flung her car keys out the window and exited the vehicle slowly with her hands raised, according to her. Brandon, her son, also got out of the car, concerned for his mother’s safety. He begged the officers not to harm her, explaining that his mother was just taking him to practice.
After understanding that Brandon was not the guy they were looking for, one of the cops approached Stewart and apologized. Stewart said that the police misidentified her 8-year-old son as a suspect who matched the description of a child who had been under surveillance for two years.
The defendant was wanted on two felony warrants, one of which was for illegal weapons possession. According to Stewart, the cops blamed the mistake on elements such as her son’s hair texture and his white shirt, which he was wearing as part of his football practice gear.
The officers told Stewart that they had seen her and her kid getting into her car and thought he looked like the culprit. When they left in the car, she noted that there were no officers near her house.
She expressed her frustration, saying, “You guys followed me from 12th Avenue and treated me like an armed subject. You guys wasted tax dollars using a chopper and multiple officers to close the freeway down for my 8-year-old son,” in a post she made about the incident.
She posted a video of the event in which she and her son were pulled over. The video shows police cars following her as she approached and spoke with one of the cops. Another officer could be seen in the background looking up at the noisy helicopter hovering above and waiving his hand in the air.
The Sacramento Police Department has admitted that the incident was caused by a mistaken identity. According to the department, the officers involved explained and apologized to Stewart and her son.
They further stated that the event is currently being investigated by the department.