A pregnant mother, Shanice Stewart, expressed her outrage after her car was abruptly pulled over by the police. The reason was that they believed her son, Brandon, was a wanted juvenile.
It was around 5 p.m. on October 17 when the terrifying ordeal unfolded. Multiple police cars surrounded her vehicle, with a hovering helicopter overhead, creating a tense scene. Officers emerged from their patrol vehicles and approached her with guns drawn.
She explained that the incident has not only left her son traumatized but she is scared of driving on the freeway. According to her, the ordeal began when she initially noticed one police car behind her with its lights on. Believing the officer needed to pass, she moved to the left shoulder of the road. However, her anxiety escalated when four additional police cars joined the first one, intensifying the situation.
Stewart said when the officers flagged her to stop, she wondered if it was for a traffic violation. She indicated that she drove to the right side of the road but her unease grew when she noticed a helicopter hovering above her car.
In a Facebook post, she expressed her frustration, stating, “They had the freeway at a complete stop to pull me over while I’m pregnant with my 8-year-old child in the car,” as reported by the Daily Mail.
Stewart said after the intense stop, she decided to cooperate with the officers. According to her, she threw her car keys out of the window and exited the vehicle slowly with her hands raised. Her son, Brandon, also got out of the car, fearing for his mother’s safety. He pleaded with the officers not to harm her, explaining to the cops that his mother was simply taking him to practice.
One of the police officers approached Stewart and offered an apology after realizing that Brandon wasn’t the suspect they were looking for. Stewart revealed that the police had mistakenly identified her 8-year-old son as a suspect matching the description of a juvenile who had been under surveillance for two years.
The suspect in question was wanted on two felony warrants, one of which was for gun possession. According to Stewart, the officers cited factors like her son’s hair texture and his white shirt, which he was wearing as part of his football practice gear, as reasons for the confusion.
According to Stewart, the officers informed her that they had observed her and her son getting into her car, believing he resembled the suspect. She indicated that there were no officers near her home when they left in the car.
She expressed her frustration, saying, “You guys followed me from 12th Avenue and treated me like an armed subject. You guys wasted tax dollars using a chopper and multiple officers to close the freeway down for my 8-year-old son,” in a post she made about the incident.
She shared a video that captured the incident when she and her son were pulled over. The video showed the police cars behind her as she approached and engaged in conversation with one of the officers. In the background, another officer was seen looking up at the noisy helicopter hovering above and waving his hand in the air.
The Sacramento Police Department has acknowledged that the incident was a case of mistaken identity. The department said the officers involved provided an explanation and an apology to Stewart and her son.
They further mentioned that the incident is currently under review by the department.
