An internal investigation has been opened within the Grand Rapids Police Department after a complaint was filed because officers pointed their guns at an 11-year-old girl then handcuffed and searched her.
According to the GRPD, officers were looking for a suspect who was involved in an attempted murder on Dec. 6. The stabbing occurred on the 1300 block of Hamilton Avenue.
The description of the suspect at the time was a 40-year-old woman.
Officers determined that the suspect had fled the scene, and their investigation led them to another house on the Westside of Grand Rapids. As they set up a perimeter, two women and the 11-year-old walked out of the house. Police said the two women looked to be about 40.
Officers pointed their guns at all three individuals as they determined if any of them were the suspect. The guns were lowered and the girl was patted down and handcuffed while police determined if the knife from the stabbing had been passed off to her.
According to police, the girl was handcuffed for two minutes then the cuffs were removed and she was detained in the back of a police cruiser for 10 minutes with the other women.
After this, GRPD officers reached the conclusion that the two women and the girl were not the suspect involved in the stabbing. All three were then released.
Sergeant Cathy Williams of the GRPD said, "At no time was anyone thrown nor was any force used other than the detention with handcuffs."
After this incident, a complaint was filed on behalf of the 11-year-old with the GRPD who then opened an internal investigation.
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