A barefoot toddler attempting to mimic her parents walked out of a pickup truck with her hands raised over her head towards several armed cops in Florida, according to a video posted on Facebook Thursday.
The shocking video, which gained more than 425,000 views as of Sunday evening, showed several officers with the Tallahassee Police Department pointing their guns at a GMC pickup truck while one man walked towards the officers with his arms raised and another stayed in place with his arms over his head.
“She’s trying to get out but she can’t because she’s little,” said a person filming the video. “She is out. Oh, she’s holding her hands up. Oh my God, look at that. Oh my God.”
Officers were in the process of arresting Chad M. Bom and James W. McMullen on suspicion of shoplifting at the time of the incident. The officers came armed with rifles and pistols after receiving reports about the suspects being armed.
Moments later, the two-year-old climbed out of the truck’s side door wearing no shoes or socks and walked towards the officers with their guns at the ready.
The video caused controversy online, prompting the police department to release two other body cam videos showing how officers tried to coax the two-year-old to its mother.
Police eventually allowed a woman, who was reportedly the toddler’s mother, to hold the toddler and another young child while officers tried to diffuse the situation.
Tallahassee Police Department Chief Michael DeLeo told the Tallahassee Democrat that the department reviewed footage from ten different body cameras.
“I am proud of how officers handled the situation, how they adapted when they became aware of the children, the level of concern and compassion they showed to the family,” DeLeo said.
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