A mother in Virginia is demanding an apology from the Fairfax County Police Department after officers rammed into her car while her children were inside and handcuffed her.
According to NBC Washington, Jamee Kimble, who is Black, was on her way to Walmart in Alexandria to get groceries last Saturday when she noticed a police car trailing them. When she reached the intersection to turn into the Walmart parking lot, a police cruiser crashed into the front bumper of her car at a traffic light and other officers surrounded her. Kimble was in the car with his 5-year-old daughter, one-year-old son and a friend.
Police accused her of being involved in a high-speed chase the week before, but Kimble said she was in the hospital undergoing a cesarean section to deliver her youngest child.
“He hits me from the front and claims that I was in a high-speed chase,” she says. “I was in the hospital. Having my baby. My baby is six days old.
“It was just so shocking and mind-wrecking,” Kimble said. “Everything happened so fast that when I didn’t realize what was going on, he had already hit us.”
In a statement, Fairfax County police said they were responding to an alert from Arlington County police that the vehicle’s occupants were armed and dangerous. The car was requested to be stopped so the occupants could be identified.
Kimble was handcuffed before police confirmed she was not involved in any crime. Her children were placed into a patrol car. “I don’t know what protocol is, but they drew their guns at me and my friend from both sides of the car,” she said.
Once released, Kimble took to social media, where she posted a video about the ordeal, which has now been viewed thousands of times.
“I still am very angry and, more than anything, hurt because I teach my children that the police are supposed to protect us and that if they need anything, they can call them for help,” Kimble told NBC Washington. “This was a very traumatic situation, and for a long time, probably forever for me and my 5-year-old, this will forever affect us.”
Kimble now wants an apology and to know why lights and sirens weren’t used. She also said that the officer who rammed her should be fired.
“I could have lost my life. My kids could have lost their lives. Luckily, everyone in the car was in a seat belt,” she said.
According to NBC Washington, Kimble is expected to meet with a police department representative.