Mother held at gunpoint with 8-year-old son wants police to pay for his therapy

By Char Adams, NBC

A woman who is nine months pregnant wants police to cover the cost of therapy for her 8-year-old son who she says was traumatized when police in Sacramento, California, pulled them over at gunpoint in a case of mistaken identity. 

Shanice Stewart, who works as a hairstylist, said her son, Brandon, is afraid to ride on the highway and becomes anxious when near police following the Oct. 17 incident. Police pulled the pair over around 5 p.m. that night with their guns drawn, believing the third-grader to be a teen wanted on two felonies. 

Stewart said she fears the incident will have a lasting negative impact on Brandon. 

“My son was yelling and pleading, ‘Please don’t take my mom.’ He was crying,” Stewart said. “It really bothers him to talk about it. I don’t want him to have it bottled inside.”

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Stewart said police contacted her the day after the incident to explain what happened. She said she has since filed a complaint with the city’s Internal Affairs Division. Ultimately, she wants a “genuine apology” and for the department to cover the costs of therapy for her son to heal from the ordeal.

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Black children, and especially boys, must be aware of the risk of police interactions.

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