WINTER HAVEN, Fla. (WFLA) — Police body camera video shows an incident unfolding in Winter Haven, Florida, that has received pushback online.
The video shows a mother and her 3-year-old daughter on the ground with their hands behind their backs, but officers said there’s more to the story.
Winter Haven Police Chief Vance Monroe, Assistant City Manager for Public Safety Charlie Bird and City Manager T. Michael Stavres plan to address the incident further during a news conference Thursday morning.
Mariah Banks identified herself and her daughter in the video.
“That’s not OK for a 3-year-old to have PTSD because a cop could’ve handled something totally different,” she said.
The body camera footage showed both her and her daughter face down on the ground with their hands behind their backs.
“I honestly feel like she was following their directions,” Banks said. “When they yelled, ‘get down,’ everyone had no option but to get down because they had guns pointed at us.”
According to police, the March 4 interaction followed a 911 call regarding a disturbance involving a firearm at Santiago’s, a local shopping center. Reports indicated that a man had gotten into a fight with one of the store’s employees in the parking lot.
The suspect was said to have left the property heading south on Highway 17 in a red Nissan Altima. Banks and her child were passengers in the vehicle, officers said.
After a BOLO was issued for the Nissan, officers found the vehicle at the American Legion on Avenue M Northwest. Authorities said the suspect, along with the two passengers, had already gotten out of the vehicle by the time they arrived.
Officers found the suspect on the side of the building and took him into custody. Meanwhile, the woman was directed to get on the ground and immediately complied. Police said the woman’s young child “mimicked” her actions and got on the ground next to her.
Banks disagreed. “She knew that they had the guns pointed at her, toward her, in her direction so she felt the need that she should’ve got down.”
“She also said, ‘please don’t kill me,'” Banks said.
In a statement sent to NewsNation local affiliate WFLA, Winter Haven police said, “Officers responded with an appropriate level of caution with the understanding there was a weapon involved seeking to resolve the situation. When approaching Hercules and Banks, officers could not have known who was in possession of the firearm. As soon as the officer approaching Banks became aware of the presence of the child, he immediately pointed his firearm towards the ground at a low-ready position.”
Investigators said the officer’s weapon was not pointed at the child at any point.
Banks said her daughter should not have been involved in the first place.
“My child is a loving, bubbly, excited, just outgoing child,” she said. “She doesn’t have that type of fear in her heart.”
“For them to put that in her heart, somebody that’s supposed to serve and protect her,” Banks said. “That’s absolutely absurd.”
Police notified the Department of Children and Families about what happened and said they’re required to do so by law because it was a violent crime committed in the presence of a child.
Investigators said nobody was taken to jail, but a complaint affidavit was filed with the State Attorney’s office for the man originally seen with a gun for improper display of a weapon and fighting in public.
A complaint affidavit was also filed for the market employee for fighting in public.
Thursday’s news conference is scheduled for 10 a.m.