A distraught father is suing Illinois police after they accused him of having meth in his possession when it was actually his dead daughter’s ashes.
Dartavius Barnes’ astonishment turns to fear as he finds officers have been testing his two-year-old child’s ashes, mistaking them for narcotics, according to disturbing bodycam footage.
Barnes was pulled over while driving through Springfield on April 6, last year; an incident report said he was speeding, amid reports of shooting in the vicinity.
Officers then handcuffed him and placed him in the back of a squad car, according to the complaint acquired by ABC20, while searching his vehicle without his permission, a proper warrant, or probable cause.
The bodycam film shows officers discovering marijuana in the car, which was concealed in bags and jars that Barnes readily acknowledges to having. Barnes is perplexed when he learns that they also discovered “something else” in the center console: a crumpled material that tested positive for “meth or MDMA.” He asks if he may be shown what they’re referring to.
“I swear I don’t do that type of s—t,” he asserts. “Can I see that bro? Am I going to jail for it?”
The cop can be heard sighing, “Yeah, probably at this point.”
“Give me that, bro. That’s my daughter. Please give me my daughter, bro. Put her in my hand, bro. Y’all are disrespectful, bro,” in the video, Barnes can be heard shouting at the policemen.
Barnes’ daughter sadly passed away as a consequence of hunger and neglect, and her mother and her mother’s boyfriend were sentenced to years in prison as a result.
