A Utah police officer allegedly pulled a gun on a mentally disabled 10-year-old boy, in a situation the boy’s mother believes was racially motivated.
What We Know:
- DJ Hrubes was playing in his grandmother’s front yard when a Woods Cross police officer held him at gunpoint, AP News reports. DJ’s mother, Jerri Hrubes, said she demanded the officer to explain himself but instead, he left without saying anything.
- Despite making a complaint with the police department and the officer returning to apologize, Hrubes called for an independent investigation. She believes the incident was “clear prejudice” against her son, whom she claims is mentally delayed and visually impaired.
- “I support all police officers. I see good in them,” said Hrubes. “But, I do not support putting a child of 10 years old at gunpoint with no explanation. … Does he look like he’s 30? Does he look like’s 18? No.”
- Police Chief Chad Soffe apologized on Monday during a press conference but insisted the officer did nothing wrong. However, the cop did not turn on his body camera which is the department policy, according to the Huffington Post. He explained that the officer will continue working while an independent review takes place.
- Police also changed their account of what happened. In initial statements, police did not claim any of the suspects were Black. In fact, they said one suspect was Hispanic but the race of the second suspect was unknown, according to Deseret News. During Soffe’s press conference, he claimed the officer confronted Hrubes because he fit the description.
Although Soffe claimed a review would take place, Davis County Attorney Troy Rawlings said his office does not do “reviews.”
