Sacramento Police bodycam footage shows cops handcuffing a sobbing 10-year-girl screaming for her mother. The video was from a city audit of citizen complaints against police, and determined the child should never have been handcuffed.
Disturbing body camera video showing cops in Sacramento, California, handcuffing a sobbing 10-year-old Black girl was shown to the city council this week as an example of misconduct and racial bias by police, according to an audit of police complaints conducted by local officials.
Police Chief Kathy Lester said the incident should have never happened.
"There is no circumstance where it’s OK to handcuff a 10-year-old, regardless of race," she told council members during a Tuesday meeting.
The footage is from a February 2022 raid by white officers on a house as part of a probation investigation involving firearms, a stolen car and a "known gang member," police said.
In the video, several white male officers are seen screaming at residents to open up while shaking the front security door.
Eventually, the door is opened by the crying child, who is in her pajamas. "I'm a baby," she says, according to the video.
“Come outside right now,” an officer yells. “You don’t get to go and hide and turn off the lights, that’s not how this works," he yells, according to the bodycam. The child, who is seen sobbing, cries out.
“I’m scared, I’m scared, mommy,” she cries. “I’m scared I don’t know what to do, I don’t know what to do.”
City Inspector General Dwight White told council members race was a factor in the girl's treatment.
“She should not have been handcuffed even for a second,” White said. “If this girl was another race, she likely wouldn’t have been handcuffed.”
Police Chief Lester said the department didn't have a policy regarding handcuffing children, but will adopt one.
“We are certainly aware of the trauma and the impacts that something like that, an interaction with police, can have on our community. I can assure you that we will conduct outreach to the family and see what we can do to make it better,” she said.
Councilwoman Katie Valenzuela called the bodycam footage "incredibly disturbing." She noted that as a child, she was told to never answer the door if she was home alone. "I would hide if I heard someone come to the door,” she added.
The unidentified girl in the video was at home with her bedridden grandmother. The child's mother said she was at work, five minutes away, when her daughter was handcuffed. The mom submitted a formal complaint to Sacramento Police, but it was dismissed by the department, the audit said.
The officers involved were not identified.
“That video was incredibly disturbing," the councilwoman said. "It just feels like (a policy is) something we should have."
Lester also entered a written statement about the initial investigation of the incident involving the girl.
“The investigation involved a known gang member who was on probation and posted both pictures and videos with firearms,” the document stated. “Upon announcing themselves, they saw people inside, but no one would answer the door. Officers saw a person running through the house turning off the lights. That person came to the door and was immediately detained.
"The officer had reasonable and articulable concerns for his safety which justified the lawful detention," it said. "The Sacramento Police Department understands the sensitive nature of inadvertently creating harm."
The department "values and strives to protect the physical and emotional safety of our community and children," the statement said.
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