Photo: Moment RF
A Black family was arrested at gunpoint in Delaware after being falsely accused of stealing their own vehicle.
On Sunday (June 29), Hope York, her four children, and her friend were driving to a restaurant when they were pulled over by Dover police officers, according to viral videos of the incident shared on social media.
“There were like 15 cop cars, and they had the vehicle surrounded,” York said. “I noticed the street was blocked off. I told my son, who was in the back seat, to start recording.”
Cops ordered York and her loved ones out of the vehicle at gunpoint before handcuffing them. According to York, cops initially declined to inform them why they were being arrested but later revealed that the car had been reported stolen.
“I said there is no way this car is stolen because I remember the day she bought it,” York said. “I got pictures of her on my phone buying it.”
York said Dover police didn't check the car's registration, which confirmed that the woman driving was the owner of the vehicle. Instead, York was transported to the precinct along with her friend and four children.
Minutes later, York said officers realized their mistake and released her and her loved ones. One cop allegedly tried to assure the women that the false arrest wasn't based on racial profiling, but on officer safety.
“The officer said, ‘I want you to know this had nothing to do with race. It’s just that we are dying in the streets, and I have a family to go to,” York told Atlanta Black Star.
Based on her encounter with police, York believes that her family's false detainment could be due to racial profiling.
“And one cop said to me, ‘Have you not watched the news lately? White officers are dying. These Black kids, 10 and 11, are carrying guns and they’re killing us," York said.
“I told him my kids are traumatized and we didn’t deserve that,” she recalled.
York is now weighing taking legal action against the Dover Police Department for incompetence, racism, and unlawful detainment.
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