Controversy was sparked in Kansas City, Missouri after video footage showed a white police officer kneeling on a pregnant Black woman while arresting her. The incident has caused outrage, leading to protests outside of City Hall calling for the resignation of the city’s Police Chief Rick Smith.

The incident happened on Wednesday, September 30th, when a group of people, including the pregnant woman, were attending a balloon release vigil for a homicide victim. According to the woman’s lawyer, Stacy Shaw, the expectant mother was filming the vigil when a police officer bumped into her. When she complained to him, he allegedly pushed her to the ground before proceeding to arrest her.

“This is another example of the lack of humanity that the Kansas City police department has shown to the Black community,” Shaw said during a press conference, KMBC reports. “It’s another instance of how people in our community have suffered at the hands of Chief Rick Smith and officers of the police department.” She added there is no justification for the officer in question’s actions.

The Kansas City police tell a different story. Police spokesman Captain David Jackson release a statement the following day to explain that officers were called to the scene after a business owner called in a complaint about the vigil, as a fight was apparently starting to break out. As police were attempting to arrest a man, Troy Robinson, the pregnant woman and an unidentified man allegedly tried to get in the middle. The statement says the woman resisted arrest, giving the officer in the video no choice but to put her on the ground in order to place her under arrest. Jackson added the officer tried to put as little pressure as possible on the woman’s back. The statement did not address the demands for the Smith’s firing.

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This is not the first-time protesters have called for the Police Chief to be left go. In fact, according to KMBC, civil rights advocates have been pushing the chief to resign for months following how police handled George Floyd protests earlier this year. Various civil rights activists have also criticized the police’s statement following the controversial video, pointing out that it shows the expectant mother was not resisting arrest. Criticism has also been directed at the city’s mayor Quinton Lucas, who has so far declined to directly comment on the backlash.

The pregnant mother was taken to hospital after the incident. While she complained of being in pain, she was evaluated and determined to be fine. BabyGaga will continue to keep its readers updated as this story progresses.

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Source: KMBC