Springfield Father Sues Police for Mistaking His 2-Year-Old's Ashes For Drugs

Photo by Pixabay from Pexels

In Springfield, Illinois, a father is suing the city and six of its police officers for opening a small urn that contained his daughter's ashes. The officers reportedly desecrated it during a routine traffic stop.

In the lawsuit, Dartavius Barnes claims that the officers violated his Fourth Amendment rights against unreasonable search and seizure.

According to the United States Courts website, the Fourth Amendment is as follows:

The Constitution, through the Fourth Amendment, protects people from unreasonable searches and seizures by the government. The Fourth Amendment, however, is not a guarantee against all searches and seizures, but only those that are deemed unreasonable under the law.

The website further states:

Whether a particular type of search is considered reasonable in the eyes of the law, is determined by balancing two important interests. On one side of the scale is the intrusion on an individual's Fourth Amendment rights. On the other side of the scale are legitimate government interests, such as public safety.

The extent to which an individual is protected by the Fourth Amendment depends, in part, on the location of the search or seizure. 

Dartavius also claims that the officers stopped his car initially without reasonable suspicion or probable cause that he had committed any crime, also according to the lawsuit, which was filed by Barnes' attorney, James C. Pullos.

It is suggested that the police may have violated his Fourth Amendment rights by unlawful search and seizure of a vehicle without probable cause, consent, or even a valid search warrant. To top it off, the officers may have acted intentionally maliciously.

The city responded by denying Barne's claims and have maintained that the city and officers are protected due to:

"...a qualified immunity as their conduct was justified by an objectively reasonable belief that it was lawful."

The Springfield city attorney is Emily A. Fancher. Emily has declined to comment. The same can be said by the Springfield Police Department, which has also declined to comment. Finally, Dartavius has also declined to speak.

What The Police Report Suggests

The traffic stop occurred on April 6, 2020, when Dartavius was pulled over by a Springfield Police officer. He was reportedly speeding and had run over a stop sign, based on what was indicated in the police incident report.

The officer who stopped Dartavius thought that he might have been a potential suspect from another situation where shots were fired. The report of that other incident was delivered to the officer through the department radio.

Again, according to the police incident report, his vehicle was reportedly shot one time in the passenger side rear fender.

As the report indicated:

"It is unknown if the blue Chrysler driven by (Dartavius Barnes) was a target of the shooter or was hit by the round."

Of particular note, this is what happened next:

"I had Dartavius exit the car and secured him in handcuffs," and sat him in the backseat of the officer's patrol car."

What The Body Camera Footage Suggests

The body camera footage was recently published online. The footage indicates that Dartavius sat in a police car for nearly 30 minutes after being stopped. Five other officers came onto the scene to search the vehicle.

The officer asked:

"No problem if I search?"

Dartavius replied:

"Yeah, go ahead."

The police then proceeded to search the car. From there, one officer is holding a sealed urn that he discovered. The report suggested that it was a brass object shaped like a "rifle round".

The report suggested:

"I have seen similar items like this before utilized to contain narcotics."

In the video, the officer said to another colleague:

"Then I checked for cocaine, but it looks like it's probably molly."

It wasn't molly. It was the ashes of Dartavius' 2-year-old daughter.

Photo of the daughter Ta'Naja Barnes credited to Dartavius Barnes

Dartavius' Confusion

From there, the police told Dartavius that they found a substance in his car that had reportedly positive for drugs, like ecstasy or meth. However, it was neither.

Dartavius was clearly confused.

Dartavius had kept the ashes in a sealed urn. It was big enough to be worn in a necklace.

Dartavius pleaded with officers:

"No, no, no, bro. That's my daughter. What are y'all doing bro ... give me that bro, that's my daughter."

An officer shut the door on his face.

The police decided to not re-test the ashes. Sometime later, they gave the urn back to Daratvius' father. He had reportedly said:

"Common sense, though, man."

Dartavius' Daughter

For some context, Dartavius had a daughter named Ta'Naja. Ta'Naja had been living with her mother, Twan'ka Davis, and her mother's boyfriend, Anthony Myers, during her demise on February 11, 2019. According to the Macon County Coroner's Office, his daughter died of starvation, dehydration, neglect, and the cold.

This means that her mother did not care for her adequately, and both the mother and her boyfriend were sent to prison, with the boyfriend serving 30 years, and the mother serving 20 years.

You can see a video of the precious daughter below:

As for the citizens of Springfield, Illinois, one has to wonder what someone like Dartavius might be thinking after seeing the officers with the urn of his daughter's ashes. He was a father, who clearly loved his daughter. No matter what happens, we know he loved her dearly.

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