GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — The City of Grand Rapids is defending the actions of the Grand Rapids Police Department (GRPD) officers who handcuffed an 11-year-old African American girl in 2017.
Honestie Hodges, who died in 2020 from COVID-19 complications, was handcuffed at gunpoint by GRPD officers on Dec. 6, 2017 while police were searching for an attempted murder suspect.
Honestie was handcuffed for around two minutes and was placed in the back of a police cruiser for about 10 minutes. She was 11 years old at the time of the incident.
In November of 2023, Honestie's mother, Whitney Hodges, filed a civil suit against the city and three GRPD officers involved in the situation. The suit alleges that Honestie's rights were violated and she was the victim of unreasonable search and seizure, false arrest, excessive force, assault and battery and negligence.
The complaint alleges that GRPD demonstrated a pattern of using excessive force against African American children. The lawsuit also cites three other incidents where GRPD officers had drawn guns on African American children between March 2017 and August 2018.
On Feb. 5, attorneys for the city moved to have the case dismissed.
"The Court should note that this case presents a rapidly unfolding set of circumstances involving a search for an armed, attempted murder suspect, a dark and unsecured setting, and the truly unfortunate and unexpected introduction of a young girl into the midst of it all. No one doubts that Honestie Hodges was frightened by the situation she suddenly found herself in, or that her mother, Whitney Hodges, was frightened for her daughter and confused by what was happening," the motion to dismiss reads.
"Nonetheless, under the totality of the circumstances as pled in the Complaint, and as shown by the relevant body worn camera (BWC) footage, these Defendants are entitled to dismissal as a matter of law," the motion continues.
The motion for dismissal cites that the charges should be dropped due to several factors, including qualified immunity, insufficient facts, and precedent set from previous rulings of similar cases.
GRPD later released body camera footage of the incident.
Sobs can be heard from Honestie as she backs toward the officers with her hands up. An officer tells her he will quick check her for weapons. She explains to police that she is 12 years old.
She tells police she's in her school uniform. The officer explains they will quickly pat her down for weapons before officers clear her. Officers then searched her 10-year-old brother without handcuffing him, a decision that the chief called an act of 'good judgement'. An officer compliments the boy's sweatshirt and asks him if he is scared—telling him he has nothing to be worried about.
"Officers did as they were trained to do," former GRPD Chief David Rahinsky said after the body cam video played.
A 2017 internal investigation by GRPD into the incident determined that the officers were correctly following department policy.
“They did exactly as policy dictated,” Rahinsky said. “And now we have an opportunity to look at some things. We are going to make some modifications and I think we will be better for it.”
The modifications to the policy became known as the "Honestie Policy" and included an expectation that officers use good judgment and act in the best interest of the youth. Prior to the Honestie Policy, the department did not have a freestanding youth policy.
The initial lawsuit against the city and GRPD officers claims that the incident traumatized Honestie for the remainder of her life.
"Without probable cause or reasonable suspicion that Honestie was committing or had committed a crime, in the presence of her mother and others, Honestie Hodges was detained at gunpoint, handcuffed, and placed in a police car --- nervous, afraid, and deathly fearful for her safety, and also the well-being of her family," the lawsuit read.
The city hopes that the case will be dismissed on the basis that "the Complaint fails to state a claim upon which relief can be granted."
The U.S. District Judge Hala Jarbou is overseeing the case.
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