GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. - A 12-year-old was handcuffed by Grand Rapids police officers on Oct. 9 as police searched for weapons related to a 911 call about a shooting. No weapons or evidence of a shooting were found.
In a release, the department said they received the call around 9 p.m. about a shooting at a home on Batavia Place NE just north of E. Fulton Street.
The caller says that a neighbor was shot according to a transcription of the 911 call.
The dispatcher asked, "So, how do you know he actually shot?" And the caller responded with, "There was a lady, she came out of her house, she said 'No, no, don't do it, don't shoot me,' and then shots rang out. She came out her front foot and somebody shot her."
When officers arrived to the scene, a car was leaving the reported address. Police stopped the car and detained the people inside while they investigated. They were later released.
Jehron Chaney said that he was one of the people in that car that was driving away when police arrived. "All I see is four bright lights in my face and cops yelling, 'Turn the car off, stop immediately or we'll shoot."
Chaney said he complied with what police were telling him to do. They put him in handcuffs and detained him. Officers later asked to search his car, but Chaney says it was after the scene was nearly cleared.
Officers also searched all four of the people who were inside the home where the shooting was reported. This included the woman who lived there, her daughter and two children. The 12-year-old was handcuffed during this search, and officers looked for weapons then took the child out of handcuffs.
Wynette Wooten said she was in the house when police asked everyone to come outside one at a time with their hands up, walking backwards.
When asked how Wooten felt about the incident, she replied, "Sad. Sad and upset. I've been sick ever since I went through it."
Police also searched the home, but they didn't find anyone with a gunshot wound. There was also no sign of a shooting.
Sgt. Cathy Williams with GRPD said that the department is doing an internal review into the incident. The police chief is reviewing the reports from that night and footage from body cameras.
This incident follows another one that occurred at the end of August when GRPD officers handcuffed two 11-year-olds and a 17-year-old who were walking to get pizza. Police detained the children on a call of two teenagers in that neighborhood with a gun. All three children were released when no weapons were found.
►Make it easy to keep up to date with more stories like this. Download the 13 ON YOUR SIDE app now.
Have a news tip? Email news@wzzm13.com, visit our Facebook page or Twitter.
