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Phoenix Mayor Apologizes After Police Threaten to Shoot Afro-American Family

The mayor of the city of Phoenix, located within the State of Arizona in the United States, offered public apologies after a video of the police, which is in her jurisdiction, became viral, threatening to shoot an African-American family.

The video was recorded last month, it shows the way in which officers allegedly handled an incident of theft in a store.

Video of what happened with NBC News coverage.

The officers, according to the video, were ordering the family with shouts to get out of the vehicle.

The parents, who were being intimidated by the police, comment that they did not realize that their four-year-old daughter had taken from the store a Barbie doll that costs 1 US dollar.

The reaction of the mayor of Phoenix

Kate Gallego, the mayor of the city of Phoenix, said in relation to the actions taken by the officers:

"They were completely inappropriate and clearly unprofessional "

Adding more of Kate Gallego's comments about this problem:

"There is no situation where this behavior is close to being accepted. As a mother, seeing these children exposed to this terrible situation goes beyond being annoying".

Statement from Mayor Kate Gallego through Twitter.

What we can highlight most of this statement in English by Kate Gallego is the following:

"I deeply regret what this family had to go through, and I apologize to our community. "

He also said that the city was accelerating the implementation of body cameras for police officers. Also, a meeting about the incident will be held on Tuesday.

Who lived this regrettable experience

In the video, is Lesha Harper getting out of the car with her two small children. The children are handed over to a passer-by, then Lesha is arrested.

The recording also shows another person, Dravon Ames, who was kicked in the lower extremities by the police at the time of being handcuffed.

What response does the family have to this injustice?

The couple prepares a claim to the city for 10 million dollars. In addition, the rapper Jay Z and your company Roc Nation they offered legal support to the family to carry out this demand.

Roc Nation's Director of Philanthropy, Dania Díaz, said in a statement:

"We are asking for the immediate termination of the police officers in question. We are committed to supporting the family to ensure that justice is done."

Lesha Harper, at this moment is pregnant, in an interview with the CNN news network, said:

"I really thought I was going to shoot in front of the kids"

While the investigation is going on, the officers involved in this incident have been assigned office work.

Written by

Teacher, writer, human rights activist and martial artist.

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