HOT SPRINGS, Ark. — Sequinta Dendy said she couldn't believe her eyes as she watched a viral video of Hot Springs Police officers arresting her daughter and her three friends on Halloween night.
"To my knowledge, one of the kids threw a soda can on the ground, and the police officers, I guess, were following the children," Dendy said. "They walked up to the kids and demanded that somebody pick the can up. My daughter said she didn't know who threw the can and that it wasn't her. To my knowledge, he grabbed her by the neck and tried to force her to pick it up."
According to Dendy, in the video, you can hear the sirens and voices of innocent teens terrified for their lives and defending themselves against the police.
"She has never had to defend herself," Dendy said. "But to do it for the first time against law enforcement is scary for anyone, especially a child."
For Dendy, hearing the cry of her daughter's voice is a sound that will forever leave pain in her heart.
She said, as a mother, you do your best to protect your child but she hates she couldn't do much in this situation.
"My baby can’t sleep at night," Dendy said. "She wakes up crying. She’s hurt. She’s constantly telling me she’s in pain, and there’s nothing I can really do."
Dendy said she wants justice for the children involved. She's also calling for the termination and removal of the officers' badges.
Above all, Dendy doesn't want this happening to anyone else
"Whose child is next?" Dendy said. "How far would they have gone if other people wouldn't have stepped in to help?"
Three of the four girls in the video are Kimberly Lambert's daughters. They were all charged with second-degree battery assault, but Lambert said, in her eyes, their instincts kicked in to help out their friend.
"Their friend was pretty much the only thing I was worried about," Lambert said. "They really weren't concerned about themselves... they wanted to save her,"
Lambert said one of the girls started having an asthma attack when they were lying on the ground.
"I don't feel like nobody's child deserved to go to something like that," Lambert said. "I don't care what color you are. It's not about race. It's not about any of that. It's all about the actions that took place in that situation."
The Hot Springs Police Department posted a statement regarding the incident on Facebook:
"The Hot Springs Police Department is aware of the apparent cell phone video that is circulating on social media involving the arrest of four minor females on Halloween night near the 200 block of Park Ave. We have received several inquiries about it and we want the public to understand that the video is not an accurate and total accounting of the events that occurred during that incident. It does not capture the events that led up to the officers’ actions. In response to that, we will be releasing the true, unedited, and complete body camera footage as recorded by the officer on the scene, but we are required by law to protect the identity of the minors by redacting (blurring) their faces. That must be done manually through our body camera system and will require time to complete. Once that is done, we will release an update into this matter along with that video. The use of force by officers will go through full internal review as all of our use of force applications do per our policy. The Hot Springs Police Department remains unwavering in our commitment to the city we serve, its citizens, and visitors."
According to both mothers, all four teens were charged with second-degree battery, and a police report was filed against the Hot Springs Police Department.