The Springfield, Illinois police department is under heavy fire. Police bodycam footage and a controversial lawsuit have both hit the media, and people are expressing their grief for Dartavius Barnes. Barnes can be seen in bodycam footage, which begins with him already cuffed in the backseat of a police car. The cops can be seen taking marijuana from his vehicle. The police also claim that they tested a substance in a jar that came back positive as meth, to Barnes’ shock. He then repeatedly asks the police to show him what they tested. Finally, the cops bring him the sample.
Immediately you can hear the anguish in Barnes’ voice as he pleads, “No, no, no, bro, that’s my daughter!” After reassuring the police, who appear to know him, the cops say they will test it again. “Please give me my daughter” begs Barnes as the police officer goes to speak with his superiors about the situation. “It did look like it field-tested for meth” says the officer, sounding much less sure about this “test” at this point. Possibly seeing the error in the situation, the officer says he will give the remains to Barnes’ father, who can be heard (and seen) standing up for his son. You can later hear one cop saying that he was present when the coroner told him his daughter had passed, which is how he knows Barnes and can confirm the story is true.
Barnes’ daughter was two years old, and passed away last year due to neglect. She was found wrapped in a urine-soaked blanket and malnourished. The child’s mother, T’wanka Davis, and Davis’ boyfriend were found guilty of murder and were both sentenced to decades in prison. Barnes is not suing the police, saying that they opened the urn and spilled his daughter’s contents. “I’m just going to give him a notice to appear on the weed,” you can hear one cop say. in the video. Another responds, “Aside from pissed off dad and testing the dead baby ashes.” A jury trial is scheduled for August 2022 for the lawsuit.
[Via]