The Aurora Police Department is currently under investigation after a video emerged of officers detaining a Black family at gunpoint on Sunday.
Aurora PD officers handcuffed a mother and four children whose ages ranged from six to seventeen after they confused the car they were in for a stolen vehicle.
Brittney Gilliam, the driver, was taking her younger sister, nieces, and daughter to the nail salon when they realized it was closed and returned to the car. Once they got back inside, officers drew their weapons at the family.
Because they were black, they were assumed guilty.
Because they were black they were assumed a threat.
Because they were black it was reasonable to treat them as 2nd class citizens.
These police were not a part of a tiny minority of bullies and thugs, they were ordinary police.— Anthony Powell (@Ynotlewop) August 4, 2020
An eyewitness video from the incident shows at least two of the children handcuffed and face down on the scorching pavement.
Aurora PD terrorized a Black family at gun point after they “mistook” their car for a stolen one.
They had no reason to run the plate in the first place. This is racial profiling.pic.twitter.com/uvJz4q9haE
— A Black Socialist ☠️ (@SonOfAssata) August 4, 2020
“I saw a car next to me with four girls in it. Feet were up on the dash it was real cute. And next thing I know the police pull up silently behind them and had guns drawn on the children,” said witness Jennifer Wurtz. “That’s police brutality. I don’t give a damn what nobody say. That’s police brutality.”
The Aurora Police Department later revealed that a motorcycle with the same license plate from a different state was the reported stolen vehicle, not Gilliam’s.
Update: the stolen vehicle was a Motorcycle.
I not a PIG and i don’t know what a Motorcycle looks like from pig’s perspective but am pretty sure it’s not going to look like a Big Blue Dodge Journey SUV.
— A Black Socialist ☠️ (@SonOfAssata) August 4, 2020
“The Aurora Police Department understands that this is concerning and traumatic for those involved and we again offer our apologies,” the police department said in a statement, while still maintaining that the officers were simply following protocol.
The city said it will provide any necessary therapy for the minors following their encounter with police and Interim Chief Vanessa Wilson apologized to the family personally.
Reminds me of the time a seeming entire police force had their guns drawn on me and my entire family thinking we were armed bank robbers in our car. They treated us with a level of courtesy they certainly didn’t treat this black family. AND THEY THOUGHT WE WERE ARMED BANK ROBBERS
— Yes All Cops (@Cowlephant) August 4, 2020
The Aurora Police Department is currently under the meticulous eye of the media, most notably the involvement of its officers in the death of Elijah McClain.
