Atlanta Mom ‘Traumatized’ After Being Mistaken For Robbery Suspect, Detained In Front Of Her Two Children
“It was pure confusion. The police pulled up with their guns out and demanded we get out of the car, and I had no idea what I could have possibly have done,” Hawkins told Atlanta Black Star.
Witnesses watched the incident as a Hawkins walked with her hands raised while police yelled commands toward her. Hawkins said she and her children were handcuffed and detained in police cars. “They didn’t say anything, they handcuffed us and didn’t tell us anything until the end,” Hawkins said.
The incident became even more strange when police explained to Hawkins who they were searching for. “After we were unhandcuffed, they told us they were looking for a [male] suspect, tall, slim, Black and had a car that was my make and model,” Hawkins said.
Cobb County police said almost an hour before at 2:54 p.m. on March 18, police officers responded to an armed robbery at a T-Mobile store when a male suspect armed with a pistol was seen running across the parking lot leaving in a white Hyundai Sonata.
Police believed they discovered the car in question 51 minutes later which matched the color, make and model 9 miles away at a Race Trac gas station. This caused officers to focus on Hawkins, her teenage daughter and adult son according to Baller Alert.
“Unfortunately, they took a take action, ask questions later approach and they did that with a child and that’s completely unacceptable,” Kayla Bumpus, Hawkins’ attorney said.
Bumpus said she wants answers, including details on the tall man police were seeking when they stopped Hawkins.
“This was an open gas station full of people, and of all the cars to pick and of all the people there, you pick this family, completely innocent,” Bumpus said.
Bumpus said as of now, no lawsuits have been filed and she is trying to gather all the video footage before deciding how they will proceed with this incident. “Why did this go the way it went, getting the bodycam, getting the footage from Race Trac before we can even more forward and see what next steps we need to take,” Bumpus said according to Atlanta Black Star.