A pregnant mother and her 8-year-old son were allegedly pulled over on their way to football practice in California and held at gunpoint by multiple Sacramento police officers. Shanice Stewart, who is nine months pregnant, and her son, Brandon, were reportedly targeted in a case of mistaken identity.
Stewart said the entire ordeal was traumatizing for her and her young son, and she doesn’t understand how such an error took place. Today, she wants justice from the Sacramento police.
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Stewart had no idea what was going on.
The pregnant mother told ABC News that when she was pulled over, she didn’t realize what was happening at first. While she and her son were on their way to football practice, an officer instructed Stewart to exit her car.
“I noticed that they had guns drawn and they had instructions for me to then toss my keys out of the window,” she said, according to the news outlet. “And open the door with my left hand, proceed to get out and put my hands in the air and then walk towards them. I immediately broke down because I didn’t know or understand what was going on.”
Police allegedly thought Brandon looked like a juvenile felon they were searching for.
Officers were reportedly searching for a teenage suspect with two felony warrants, including one for possessing a firearm, ABC News reported. When the young child saw his mother with the police, he allegedly got out and begged officers for help.
At this point, officers realized Brandon was not the person they were looking for, police told ABC News. The pair were released by police and sent on their way.
The next day, police reportedly gave Stewart more information.
According to Stewart, police told her the next day that the suspect was a teenager. Brandon, who is only in third grade, weighs less than 60 pounds, his mother said.
“From a distance, officers observed a juvenile who they believed to be the wanted suspect, enter a vehicle with tinted windows,” Sacramento police shared in a statement to ABC News. “Based on the information regarding firearm history, a high-risk stop was initiated. As officers were conducting the stop and the windows were rolled down, they realized the juvenile in the vehicle was not the wanted suspect, and at that point the high-risk stop was ended.”
Brandon is reportedly having a hard time after what happened.
Stewart told ABC News that her son is traumatized, and although she keeps telling him that not all police are bad, he is struggling. The mother admitted that she is, too.
“I don’t want him to hate the law. As far as me, at any given moment, every time an officer gets behind me, I’m at fear for my life. I’m scared and he’s scared,” she explained.
The incident is under investigation.
Police told ABC News they are still searching for the suspect and that an internal investigation is underway regarding what happened. They acknowledged the mistaken identity and plan to deal with it. It is unclear whether the involved officers will face any disciplinary action.
“Our officers provided explanation and an apology to the mother and her son. Our department has been in contact with the mother since the incident. We recognize the impact that police interactions can have on our community members,” police noted in a statement.
Stewart wrote on Facebook that she wants answers. “I’m unsure what to do but I was scared for my baby. I really want to see all their video cameras to see how dumb this looked to place fear in a child and a pregnant woman!” she wrote. “Sac Pd should be ashamed of themsellves because that could have ended badly.”
