Grieving father sues after police searched for drugs in urn containing ashes of daughter
By: VIDEO DESCRIPTION:
A grieving father is suing the city of Springfield, Illinois after police tested his deceased daughter’s ashes for drugs.
Body camera footage shows how the disturbing moment unfolded. Dartavius Barnes was driving on 6 April, 2020 when Springfield police officers pulled him over, allegedly for speeding.
Arrested? Killed? Framed with drugs? How’s about this one: imagine having the ashes of your recently deceased two-year-old be tested for drugs during a police stop.
Yeah, just like we said…you never really know..
The Root put us on to this truly despicable story that details a man in Illinois named Dartavius Barnes that had to file a federal lawsuit after officers actually took the time to test a small urn with his daughter’s ashes and falsely said it tested positive for drugs. If that wasn’t enough, wait until you hear some of the insensitive words that came out some of these officer’s mouth during the process.
Take a look at The Washington Post‘s recollection of audio from the nearly 47 minutes of body-camera footage of the encounter that was published by Illinois news outlets last week:
“Barnes was pulled over on April 6, 2020, for allegedly speeding and disobeying a stop sign. The video shows Barnes, who cooperated with police, exiting his car and being placed in handcuffs before giving police permission to search his blue Chrysler. Barnes told police he only carried some marijuana inside the vehicle.
He was put in the back of a patrol car for about 20 minutes while officers with flashlights inspected his car and seized nearly 80 grams of marijuana stored in plastic bags and a Mason jar. At one point, one officer showed the urn to another officer.
“At first I thought it was heroin, then I checked for cocaine, but it looks like it’s probably molly,” one officer said.
“X pills?” another officer said, referencing ecstasy.
Minutes later, one of the officers told Barnes he would be arrested because they had found either meth or ecstasy in the center console of his car. “What?” Barnes said before asking to see the illegal substance police claimed they had found.”
