Six days ago, the Phoenix Police Department held a family of four at gunpoint after their 4-year-old daughter walked out of a dollar store with a doll. Now that video of the graphic incident has seized social media attention, the people have spoken and Jay-Z is helping the family fight for their rights.
Jay’s philanthropic arm, Team Roc, is offering legal and emotional support to 22-year-old Dravon Ames and his 24-year-old fiancée, Iesha Harper, who feared for their lives when the Phoenix PD drew their guns and demanded they “get out of the f-cking” car or else “you’re gonna get shot.” (Keep in mind, these are the people hired to serve and protect.)
Team Roc PR spokesperson Didier Morais says they are calling for the termination of all officers involved to “ensure the well-being of the children,” reports AZ Central, and have “secured high-profile attorney Alex Spiro to join the family’s legal team pro-bono and plans on filing against one of the officers for child neglect.”
Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego (who was born in our editor’s great state of New Mexico) issued an apology on behalf of the city to Dravon, Iesha, and their family, saying, “[I am] sick over what I have seen in the video depicting Phoenix police interacting with a family and young children.”
She continued, “It was completely inappropriate and clearly unprofessional. There is no situation in which this behavior is ever close to acceptable. As a mother myself, seeing these children placed in such a terrifying situation is beyond upsetting. I am deeply sorry for what this family went through, and I apologize to our community.”
Roc Nation Managing Director of Philanthropy Dania Diaz released a statement, calling the incident “absolutely sickening.”
“There is no place for that behavior in our world – let alone our justice system – and we are calling for the immediate termination of the police officers in question,” Diaz said. “We are committed to supporting the family to ensure that justice is served.”
Dravon Ames sat alongside Rev. Jarrett Maupin, President of the National Action Network Phoenix Chapter, and explained the fear he and his family felt when the “doing too much” police approached them.
According to The New York Times, a lawyer for the couple, Tom Horne, a former Republican attorney general of Arizona, held a press conference Monday afternoon and stated Dravon and Iesha were “compliant 100 percent of the time” and filed a $10 million lawsuit against the city.
(As usual), both officers involved have been placed on modified desk duty.
