Mistaken Identity?!!: Cops Arrest 11-Yr-Old Black Girl At Gunpoint Looking for White Female Suspect (Video)
This makes no sense. How would cops confuse a young black girl for a grown white woman? And worse, how do they go so far as to handcuff and arrest this unsuspecting, unarmed, innocent child at gunpoint? They took her from her home and family. She had done nothing wrong...except #WalkingWhileBlack. #itstoomuch
According to the Huffington Post, 11-year-old Honestie Hodges, just suffered the scare of a lifetime when Grand Rapids, Michigan, police officers handcuffed and arrested her as she walked out of her back door headed to the store. Her mom, Whitney Hodges, says police told her daughter to raise her hands and walk backwards all while aiming their guns at her. Sound familiar?
It's heart wrenching to watch this video and hear Honestie cry out in fear. Imagine being 11-years-old and pleading with about a dozen cops, not knowing if you're going to live or die. What had she done? Nothing. Absolutely nothing.
It turns out that Honestie had walked out of the house as police were looking for a 40-year-old white female suspect Carrie Manning, Hodges' aunt, who police believed was involved in a stabbing incident. Here's a picture of Carrie Manning:
Here's a photo of 11-year-old Honestie Hodges:
While some may say, easy mistake...right house, wrong person. We say...no excuse. How do you mistake an African American child like Honestie Hodges for a grown white woman in her 40's like Carrie Manning? How about take a second to identify and ask a question or two?!!! Maybe make a visual ID of who your suspect is, and who it isn't.
Ironically, Honestie once dreamed of being a police officer, but feels differently now, with good reason. She told WOOD-TV: “I wanted to be a detective or police officer, but now I don’t want anything to do with those kind of things...I’m just wondering why they did that to me.”
The Grand Rapids Police Department issued a statement saying an internal investigation is underway, but made no further comment or apology.
Fam, we have to keep fighting to ensure changes are made to the system. Black children deserve better from law enforcement officers who are supposed to protect and serve not traumatize. Honestie shouldn't have had to go through this horrific ordeal. #BlackLivesMatter #ItsTooMuch
