THE POLICE CHIEF ADMITTED 'WE'VE MADE A MISTAKE'

Body-cam footage of traffic stop shows Frisco police hold family at gunpoint by ‘mistake’

The Frisco department released video Friday giving insight into a traffic stop Sunday that involved a family on their way to a basketball game.

 

By Zaeem Shaikh

 

The Dallas Morning News

Jul 28, 2023 

 

Frisco police released body-camera footage Friday from a traffic stop that occurred Sunday on the Dallas North Tollway.

 

A family of four from Little Rock, Ark., left a Frisco hotel Sunday morning on their way to a basketball tournament in the Dallas area.

Unbeknownst to them, a Frisco police officer ran the out-of-state license plate on their Dodge Charger — a car frequently stolen, according to authorities. But the officer entered the plate as if it were from Arizona, not Arkansas.

When no registration appeared on her screen, she and another officer began a traffic stop on the Dallas North Tollway, believing the car was stolen. One of the officers drew a gun at the family and ordered them out of the vehicle in an incident that went viral on social media.

Body-camera footage released Friday by police gave new insight into the traffic stop.

Frisco police Chief David Shilson said in a written statement accompanying the footage that the officers made a mistake, and he apologized to the family. He added that the officer who checked the license plate accepted responsibility for what happened.

“Our department will not hide from its mistakes,” Shilson said. “Instead, we will learn from them.”

In a written statement, Grant Cottingham, a Frisco police spokesman, said the incident is still under review and any discipline related to the stop is still being determined.

‘Why is my baby in cuffs?’

Frisco police released a brief statement about the traffic stop Tuesday after a video of the encounter was shared on TikTok, saying that the stop “raised concerns.” However, they did not initially provide any specific information about the incident.

The Charger’s driver also posted a pair of videos on TikTok describing how she, her husband, her son and her nephew were on their way to a basketball game.

The footage released Friday by police shows two Frisco officers pulled the black sedan to the right shoulder of the tollway. Two squad cars are parked behind the Charger.

One officer points his gun at the Charger and commands the occupants to show their hands. He then orders the driver to step out, pull her shirt up, exit the vehicle and walk backward towards the officers.

The female police officer approaches her, telling her to relax. She asks where she’s from and where she got the license plate that’s on the vehicle.

The woman says she’s from Arkansas and that her family was on their way to a basketball tournament. She gets out her driver’s license and concealed carry license and tells police she has a firearm locked in the car’s glove compartment.

“I’ve never been in trouble a day in my life,” she tells the officer, struggling to catch her breath. “This is scaring the hell out of me. I have bad anxiety.”

The officer tells the woman that she ran a check on her tag and that it said the plate was removed. The woman replies that she has registration.

While questioning her, the officer appears to say, “Sounds like you need to go have a conversation with Arizona.” The driver corrects her, saying Arkansas.

She also yells at the officer when she sees her son in handcuffs.

“Please don’t let them do that to my baby,” she says. “This is very traumatizing. Why is my baby in cuffs?”

Sixteen minutes pass before other officers on scene tell the officer who ran the plate that the check was done in the wrong state.

“For real?” the officer asks. “AR is Arkansas, correct?”

Another officer tells her, “They were run out of Arizona.” She acknowledges her mistake, telling them, “That’s on me.”

According to police, a sergeant who arrived on scene realized the mistake and ordered officers to stand down and end the traffic stop.

The female officer walks up to the Charger and tells the husband, who appears to be furious.

“It could have went all wrong for us,” he said. “They yell out, ‘Don’t move or we’ll shoot.’ We could have all gotten killed.”

Footage from the officer who pointed the gun shows the husband pleading with police, telling them they pulled a gun on his son “for no reason.”

The woman said on TikTok that the experience has traumatized her family.

“I’m a hard working woman, I’m a nurse, my son is in a great school, he’s very involved in sports. I just can’t make sense of this,” she said.

Aftermath

The day of the traffic stop, the Frisco department did an incident review to determine what happened and how it was managed, and to evaluate what needed to be addressed, police said. A preliminary assessment provided guidance to include ensuring the accuracy of information entered by officers.

An ongoing review will identify further changes to training, policies and procedures, police said Friday.

“This incident does not reflect the high standard of service that our officers provide on a daily basis to our residents, businesses and visitors,” Shilson said in the statement.

A civil-rights lawyer who reviewed a video that showed part of the stop said he thinks the family was profiled and their constitutional rights were violated. Attorney David Henderson said the race of the woman, who is Black, and the fact she had a firearm in her car could have played a role.

“In cases I’ve seen involving people of color who have a license to carry, as soon as they alert the police to the fact that they have a weapon, the police change drastically in terms of how they deal with them,” he said.