A disturbing video captured a Phoenix police officer aiming a gun, yelling obscenities and threatening to shoot a Black family after their 4-year-old daughter walked out of a store with a doll last month. The parents say they were not aware their young daughter had taken the doll, worth about $4. Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego reacted in a statement on June 15, apologizing for the incident, saying that “there is no situation in which this behavior is ever close to acceptable.”
Police Chief Jeri Williams launched an investigation into the confrontation after recently receiving the videos that were recorded by bystanders. “I, like you, was disturbed by the language and the action of the officer,” she said in a posting on Facebook. “I assure you this incident is not representative of the majority of our Phoenix police officers.” The officers involved in the confrontation have been assigned to desk duty. The couple is now suing the police department and the city of Phoenix for $10 million. And according to various news agencies, Jay Z has stepped in and hired an attorney for the family.
