Frisco, Texas Police Chief Apologizes After Mistakenly Pulling Over Family from Arkansas
The Frisco, Texas, police chief issued an apology on Friday after a family from Little Rock, Arkansas, who were headed to a basketball tournament in Grapevine, was mistakenly pulled over in a “high-risk stop,” after a Frisco officer ran the car’s plates as being from Arizona, instead of Arkansas, leading police to believe it was stolen, according to body camera video and information released by police.
On July 23, a Frisco police officer saw a black Dodge Charger with an out-of-state license plate leave a hotel and ran a check of the vehicle’s license plate. According to a news release from Frisco Police, when entering the information, the officer mistakenly entered the plate as being from Arizona, instead of Arkansas, causing an incorrect registration return and leading the officer to believe that the vehicle was possibly stolen.
The officer then initiated a “high-risk traffic stop” on the Dallas North Tollway and waited for backup officers to arrive, the release said. Police closed the southbound lanes of the tollway and conducted the high-risk stop, which the department said is “standard procedure for stolen vehicles.”
Body camera video from two officers, released by the department on Friday, shows the mother who was driving and her 6th-grade son, who was in the back seat, being ordered out of the vehicle.
“Slowly exit the vehicle. Face away from us. (…) Turn around. Do not face us,” says one officer who has his gun drawn toward the car. “Everybody in the car – hands outside the window. (…) Driver, slowly lift up your shirt, only for us to see your waistband. Slowly spin around.”
“If you reach in that car, you may get shot so be careful. Do not reach in the car,” the officer shouts once they have been told, by the driver, that her licensed handgun is locked in the glove compartment.
Police say an incident review is underway.
“We made a mistake,” Frisco Police Chief David Shilson said in a statement Friday. “Our department will not hide from its mistakes. Instead, we will learn from them. The officer involved quickly accepted responsibility for what happened, which speaks to integrity. I’ve spoken with the family. I empathize with them and completely understand why they’re upset.”
The body camera video shows the officer who initiated the stop taking the mother aside and questioning her about her car’s tags. The woman tells the officer that the children in the back of the car are her son and nephew. Meanwhile, body camera video shows the driver’s husband talking to a second officer, saying “Listen sir, this is my wife’s car. We’re just in a basketball tournament.”
“I’m a basketball coach. Look at this bro,” he continues, as his son can be heard crying.
“I got conceal carry… Y’all put a gun on my son for no reason.”
A Frisco police sergeant then arrived, and officers realized a mistake had been made.
One officer explains that it was an honest mistake.
“That’s a terrible experience,” responds the father. “You all got to do your job, but we’re all legit,” he said.
“It looks like I made a mistake,” the officer tells the family after her sergeant ordered officers to stand down and called off the high-risk stop. “So I ran it AZ for Arizona, instead of AR – and that’s what happened.”
The father then responds, “It could have gone all wrong for us.”
Distraught, the driver’s husband can then be seen turning away from the officers and breaking down in tears.
“We’re so sorry that happened like this. We had no intent on doing this, you know?” another officer tells
What actions are being taken by the Frisco Police Department to address the concerns raised about racial profiling and fair policing practices
,” the officer adds.
The family complied with the officer’s commands and were eventually determined to be non-threatening. After realizing the mistake in entering the license plate information, the officer apologized to the family.
Frisco Police Chief David Shilson released a statement on Friday, expressing his apologies to the family for the incident.
“We train our officers to exercise great care and discretion in conducting high-risk traffic stops, but unfortunately, mistakes can happen,” Shilson said in the statement. “I want to personally apologize to the family from Arkansas for the distress this incident has caused. We are taking steps to review our procedures and ensure that this type of mistake does not happen again.”
According to the Frisco Police Department, they are conducting an internal investigation into the incident to determine what corrective actions may be necessary.
The family involved said they appreciate the police chief’s apology but still want more action to be taken to prevent similar incidents from occurring in the future.
“I accept the Chief’s apology, but it’s important that they make sure this doesn’t happen to anyone else,” the mother said in a statement. “No family should have to go through what we experienced. It was traumatizing for both my son and me.”
The incident has sparked a debate on social media about racial profiling and police practices. Many people are calling for increased training and oversight to prevent these types of mistakes and to promote fair and unbiased policing.
It’s a relief to see that the Frisco police have issued an apology after pulling over an innocent family in a high-risk stop. Mistaken identity cases can be incredibly distressing, and it’s crucial for law enforcement agencies to take responsibility for their errors. Let’s hope this incident encourages better training and protocols to prevent such mishaps in the future.
It is disheartening to see innocent families being pulled over in high-risk stops. Kudos to the Frisco Police for issuing an apology, but we must strive to improve procedures to avoid such mistaken identities and prevent unnecessary distress for innocent citizens.