Omari Grant, 11, is a typical fifth grader with an active imagination, so he and his friends decided to build a tree fort in their sub-division community. They began chopping off tree limbs and arranging them to make the fort. That’s when a neighbor saw them and called police to report the disturbance. Henry County police officers in Georgia responded and the boys were scared.
According to Omari Grant and his mother, Janice Baptiste, one of the officers drew his gun on the boys. They proceeded to use profanity and had the boys face down, spread eagle while they were searched for weapons and drugs. Omari stated “I was thinking, I don’t want to be shot today. So I listened to what they said.” Grant’s mother called the incident overkill and an excessive use of force. “All my son could say was Ma, they had a gun in my face … they treated them like they were robbing a store.” The officers then took Grant home and according to Baptiste, the officer’s attitude was one of intimidation. There was no apology just the attitude that, “I’m Mr. Big and Bad” commented Baptiste.
Sgt. Joey Smith, a spokesperson for the department, stated that “an investigation of the officers’ actions is underway and if there was something inappropriate or against policy, then it will be dealt with.” The names of the officers have not been released by the police department and the officers are still on active duty. In the meantime, Baptiste has filed a complaint with Henry County Police department.
