A pregnant woman in her ninth month is requesting that the police in Sacramento, California, cover the expenses for therapy required by her traumatized 8-year-old son, who she claims was deeply affected when police pulled them over at gunpoint due to a case of mistaken identity.
Shanice Stewart, a hairstylist by profession, expressed her concerns about her son, Brandon, who has developed a fear of highway travel and experiences anxiety when in the vicinity of law enforcement after an unsettling incident that occurred on October 17. During that evening, police pulled the mother and child over at around 5 p.m., with their firearms drawn, under the false assumption that the third-grader was a teenager with two felony warrants.
Stewart, fearing that her son would be taken from her, recounted the distressing episode, stating, “My son was yelling and pleading, ‘Please don’t take my mom.’ He was crying. It really bothers him to talk about it. I don’t want him to have it bottled inside.”
On that fateful day, four Sacramento police vehicles and a helicopter surrounded Stewart and her son as she was driving him to his football practice. Initially, she believed the officers might shoot her, only to discover that the situation pertained to her son.
Stewart expressed her feelings about the ordeal, saying, “That’s when I was moreso hurt. I was like, ‘My 8-year-old? My baby? Are you serious? I was hurt, I was angry, terrified for him. I don’t understand how a mistake can go toward an 8-year-old. It could’ve ended so badly.”
In response to the incident, Sacramento police provided a statement to NBC News this week, explaining that they had been monitoring the mother and son since they left their residence. They were in search of a “juvenile who was wanted for two felony warrants, including a warrant for gun possession.” Believing they had located the suspect, they performed a “high-risk stop.” The police department acknowledged the case of mistaken identity and expressed regret, adding that they are reviewing the situation.
The police statement read, “We must acknowledge that a case of mistaken identity occurred. Our officers provided an 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.”
Subsequent to the incident, Stewart stated that the police contacted her to provide an explanation the following day. She has since lodged a complaint with the city’s Internal Affairs Division and is seeking a “genuine apology” from the department, along with coverage for her son’s therapy expenses to help him recover from the traumatic experience.
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Stewart emphasized the necessity of therapy for her son, stating, “He’s definitely going to have to deal with therapy for a while. He’s never been through that before, being pulled over and having a gun pulled out on him. We both are going through pain and suffering. Compensation for pain and suffering because this is going to cause some things in the future.”