LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — A Central Arkansas family is speaking out for the first time after being mistakenly stopped by Frisco police and held at gunpoint in Texas.
On July 23, Demetria and Myron Heard, son Kaileb and nephew Jayden were on their way to an AAU basketball tournament in Grapevine, Texas.
The family left their hotel in Frisco, expecting a quick drive to the fieldhouse. Instead, Demetria Heard said they quickly saw police lights in the rearview mirror.
In response, Demetria Heard pulled over and got her information ready for the officer.
"After a few minutes, I look in my rearview mirror, and I see another police car pull up, followed by a few others," Demetria Heard said. "My husband looked back, and he says, 'They have their guns out.'"
Body camera video released by the Frisco Police Department of the incident showed officers instructing Demetria Heard, the driver, to step out of the vehicle. Next, her son, Kaileb, was asked to get out.
The body camera video showed him with guns drawn as he slowly walked backward on a shutdown section of the Dallas North Tollway.
"If you reach in that car, you may get shot, so be careful," an officer can be heard, speaking over an intercom.
In the video, Demetria Heard can be heard crying in distress.
"I immediately broke down," Demetria Heard said. "I asked [one of the officers], 'Ma'am, what are you all doing? Can you please not do that to my son? He hasn't done anything, and neither have I. Please take the cuffs off of him, and don't do this.'"
After checking the license plate, officers believed the family's Dodge Charger was stolen. The Frisco Police Department later admitted they got it wrong and entered an Arizona license plate instead of Arkansas.
"It matched everything," One officer said in the body camera video. "It's crazy. I don't know how it happened."
Although it was a mix-up, Myron Heard said his family is disheartened.
"It's hard and frustrating," Myron Heard said. "It's unfortunate because it never was supposed to happen... [Kaileb and Jayden] had to play three games after the incident and could only play one. He looked at me on the court and went, 'Dad, I can't do it.' My nephew came up to me, like, 'Unc, we almost died.'"
The Frisco police chief apologized in writing, acknowledging the mistake. The statement said he reached out to the family and empathized with them, saying he completely understood why they were upset.
The Heards said the chief called them. However, they feel the call was a result of social media pressure. A spokesperson for the Frisco Police Department told us they were not privy to the phone call and that social media hasn't been a guiding force for them through this process.
"You never said, genuinely, I apologize," Demetria Heard said. "It was just, 'My bad. I made a mistake... I'll never be able to understand why because now that's something my son is going to have to deal with."
That Frisco police spokesperson confirmed that the department is reviewing its policies and procedures to avoid a situation like this in the future.
The Heards and Jayden's family said they're waiting on results from an information request to the Frisco Police Department before they decide their next steps.