Police handcuff and hold at gunpoint every adult at an intersection for
hours Angel Clark
Wilmington Civil Rights Examiner
A severe case of being in the wrong place at the wrong time caused unexpected delays for dozens of drivers in Aurora, Colo., on Saturday. Police stopped dozens of cars at gunpoint and pulled out the drivers and all other adults in the vehicles. All adults were then handcuffed and detained as their vehicles were searched. The police were looking for a bank robber.
An armed man allegedly robbed a Wells Fargo bank and fled. Police claimed they had a "reliable" tip that the armed robber was in a vehicle stopped at a red light. Officers responded and barricaded the area, trapping 19 cars around the intersection in question. Police went car by car and pulled out each adult at gunpoint and handcuffed them.
"Cops came in from every direction and just threw their car in front of my car," said Sonya Romero, who was one of the drivers handcuffed. "We all got cuffed until they figured out who did what."
Aurora police officer Frank Fania told ABC News that the police had no description of the bank robber and based on the "reliable" tip, a "split-second decision was made to stop all the cars at that intersection, and search for the armed robber". The search took between an hour and a half and two hours. “Most of the adults were handcuffed, then were told what was going on and were asked for permission to search the car,” Fania said. “They all granted permission, and once nothing was found in their cars, they were un-handcuffed.”
Police arrested a man in a white SUV who had two loaded firearms. There has been some criticism as to the police response in this situation. At least 19 people were detained while the police had no description of the suspect. Despite the concept of "innocent until proven guilty", people were taken out of their vehicles at gunpoint, handcuffed, and detained for two hours.
The other people who had been held at the intersection for two hours, handcuffed and at gunpoint, were allowed to leave once the suspect was apprehended. One wonders whether the police, detaining so many in such a public arena, felt obligated to detain someone, regardless of guilt.