Emma Marsden
A video showing police mistaking a man's deceased child's ashes for drugs has gone viral after the news his case was dismissed.
The video uploaded to X, formerly Twitter, shows Dartavius Barnes being apprehended by the police during a traffic stop as they handle a small silver urn, which Barnes says contains the ashes of his deceased two year-old daughter.
The tape, taken from uploaded body camera footage, shows Barnes pleading for the officers to hand the urn back to him as, visibly distressed, he cries out: “That's my daughter, bro, just put her in my hands. Give me my daughter.”
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According to the police incident report, Barnes was pulled over for speeding and running a stop sign.
The officer who stopped Barnes’ car stated in his report that he heard through police radio that Barnes was also a potential suspect from a nearby report of shots fired.
The footage obtained from the police department by CNN showed that Barnes sat inside in a police vehicle for nearly 30 minutes after he was stopped.
Barnes later filed a lawsuit alleging that the Springfield, Illinois, police officers desecrated the ashes of his deceased daughter by unsealing an urn containing the ashes and then spilling some of them during the search.
According to reports, the police also falsely told Barnes that the ashes tested positive for drugs.
In its response to the lawsuit, the city denied Barnes’ claims and maintained the city and its officers are protected by 'qualified immunity as their conduct was justified by an objectively reasonable belief that it was lawful'.
The case was dismissed.
However, viewers of the video in question have expressed outrage at the alleged actions of the police, especially given the heartbreaking and tragic circumstances.
Barnes daughter, Ta’Naja, died of neglect and starvation in 2019. Ta'naja's mother, Twanka Davis, was sentenced to 20 years in prison, and Anthony Myers, her live-in boyfriend, was sentenced to 30 years for her murder.
In response to the video, one X user said: “He doesn't say daughter's ashes. He just says, daughter. You could tell she's still alive in his heart and he will never let her die in his love.”
Another simply comments: “Heartbreaking.”
Other users posted sad or crying face emojis as one user added: “This sh*t hurts…fr it hurts so bad.”