An Arizona man who called 911 to report that his child was missing was fired from his job after he was detained by responding officers, Fox10 reports.
52-year-old Darnay Cockrell told 911 dispatchers on August 6 that his four-year-old daughter had been kidnapped by her mother at his apartment in Mesa, Arizona.
“My baby momma had came over the night before and hadn’t seen her while, and she’s an addict, and I’ve been taking care of the baby for a while,” Cockrell said.
An officer met Cockrell outside of his apartment. According to audio from body camera footage obtained by Fox 10, Cockrell told the officer that his daughter had been taken. The officer told Cockrell to relax, ordered him to sit, and said police had located the child.
The father declined to sit and said he had bad knees, per the audio.
“I don’t feel I should be getting on the ground when I’m the parent that’s calling and my kid has been taken,” he said.
Another officer arrived at the scene and attempted to force him to the ground.
“They tried to force me down, but the way it [was] looking, if I fall, I’m gonna hit my face so I just bent forward and put my knees down. [Then] he jumped on my back and handcuffed me,” Cockrell said.
Bystander footage shows Cockrell yelling in protest as officers handcuffed him.
In a statement, the Mesa Police Department said officers handcuffed Cockrell after he “displayed a high level of emotion.”
‘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,’ the department said.
Police later released Cockrell and his child was returned to him safely. The child’s mother, Nicole Conner-Sharp, was arrested on suspicion of disorderly conduct under the domestic violence law.
Cockrell was fired from his job after video of his detainment circulated online. According to a GoFundMe campaign, video showed him “wearing the company’s shirt.”
“They blamed it on cutbacks,” the GoFundMe reads.
Following an internal investigation, the department said the officers involved in the incident will receive additional training.
