ABOVE PHOTO: Jay Z (Photo by Joel Ryan/Invision/AP, File)
The couple is demanding $10 million from the Arizona city.
By Megan Sims
NEWSONE.COM
Viral video of a rogue police officer pointing a gun at a Black family in the presence of an infant and a young child in Phoenix has angered countless people around the country. Newly released police documents show that the officer involved was not completely honest in his report on the incident. Now, one hip-hop legend — Jay-Z — is lending a hand to the family in a major way as they begin the process of seeking justice.
Witness video of the May 29 incident shows Phoenix police officer Christopher Meyer screaming threats and profanity toward a Black family in a van — Dravon Ames, 22, his pregnant fiancée Aisha Harper, 24, their two young daughters.
“You’re gonna f–king get shot!” the cop yells at one point.
“I’m gonna put a f–king cap in your f–king head,” he said in another instance.
Meyer also pointed a gun at the group threatening to shoot them and demanding Harper put her baby on the hot ground despite the fact she could not walk; and all of this because a four-year-old allegedly took a 99 cent doll.
On Saturday, ABC15 obtained a copy of the full police report, which was written by Meyer and found there were major differences in what was seen on the video and what was written in the report. The news outlet reported that Meyer made no mention of holding the family at gunpoint only writing that “Iesha was then removed from the vehicle.” He also did not talk about how he kicked Ames in the leg while he was handcuffed, which he only stated that Ames “began to tense his arms and turn back towards me. I made him spread his feet.” Another glaring omission was found when Meyer failed to mention that he ordered to put her child on the ground as he claimed Harper “refused to put the child down. She became loud, verbally abusive and refused our commands.”
Following the massive outrage, Jay-Z‘s philanthropic organization within his entertainment company ROC Nation offered to provide legal support to Ames and Harper, who filed a claim on Thursday demanding $10 million from the city of Phoenix. According to AZCentral, ROC secured high-profile attorney Alex Spiro and is demanding the termination of the police officers involved and plan on filing against one of the officers for child neglect.
“There is no place for that behavior in our world – let alone our justice system – and we are calling for the immediate termination of the police officers in question,” ROC Nation Managing Director of Philanthropy Dania Diaz said. “We are committed to supporting the family to ensure that justice is served.”
Phoenix Police Chief Jeri Williams, who is a Black woman, released a video on the department’s Facebook page on Friday saying she was “disturbed by the language and actions of our officer.” Williams had to release another video prior to this incident after a new database outed racist Facebook posts made by police officers around the country, many of whom were with the Phoenix Police Department.
A check of the database did not bring up results for Meyer, who is currently being reviewed by the Phoenix Police Department’s Professional Standards Bureau.
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