Mesa father speaks out about being handcuffed after calling 911 to report his missing child
A Mesa father is speaking out about being handcuffed after he called 911 to report that his ex kidnapped one of his kids. "I'm nervous. I don't know where my kid is at. I don't know the situation and I'm in a frantic place."
MESA, Ariz. - A video is making its rounds on social media of Mesa Police detaining a father, but he was the one who called 911 because he said his daughter had been kidnapped.
On Aug. 6, Darnay Cockrell called 911 just after 6 a.m. He told police his ex kidnapped his 4-year-old daughter, and he didn't know where they went.
Officers responded, but things took a turn, and it was all captured on video.
He explains more on Aug. 15, saying, "I was on the phone with the dispatcher, and I was like ‘she left.’ He was like, ‘Go locate and see which way she went.’ So I went down the stairs and the officer was walking up, and I was like, 'My baby is gone,' and he ran on the side of me and was like, 'Get on the ground,' and I'm like, 'No, I'm not getting on the ground. My baby is gone,'" Cockrell said.
He says that's when a second officer came, and he was pulled to the ground and detained.
Officer: "What's going on with your baby mama? That's what I'm trying to figure out."
Cockrell, in the video, is seen trying to get off the ground.
Officer: "You're going to stay on the ground."
Cockrell: "Don't touch me anymore, I swear to God, don't touch me anymore."
Officer: "You brought this upon yourself."
Cockrell: "Man, I'm pissed off. How the **** you going to feel if somebody got your kid?"
"He was like, 'She's in an intersection,' and when I heard intersection, it freaked me out. I'm thinking they got hit by a car, so I'm like, ‘Why are you in front of me? Irritating me? I called you,’" he said.
In a statement, Mesa Police said, "The man appeared upset as his daughter was just taken and displayed a high level of emotion, which is understandable; however, because emotions were so high, he was not obeying the officer’s commands and made comments that spiked concern for officer safety."
Father released from detainment; his ex arrested
"I'm nervous. I don't know where my kid is at. I don't know the situation, and I'm in a frantic place. My heart is racing. I'm not feeling like I'm this father that's supposed to be protecting his child," Cockrell said.
His handcuffs were eventually removed after more officers arrived. His daughter was found safe.
His ex, Nicole Conner-Sharp, was booked into jail for disorderly conduct under the domestic violence law.
Nicole Conner-Sharp
Police wrote in a statement that Cockrell filed an internal affairs complaint. The department's district commander found the complaint to be unfounded.
The statement from Mesa PD goes on to say "The officer’s actions were not in violation of department policy; however, upon reviewing the body worn camera video it was determined that supplemental training would be beneficial for both officers as there is always room for improvement."
"Saying they need supplemental training, that tells me that that's a contradiction of a statement because if they need more training, that means they're not properly trained for the job," Cockrell said.
It's unclear what happened before the video started, but FOX 10 has requested body camera video from the Mesa Police Department.
he lost his job because of the video.
