Family Of Child In Amber Alert Upset With How Fairfield Police Handled Search
FAIRFIELD (CBS13) — A terrified mother in Fairfield on the ground in handcuffs, just moments after her son had been kidnapped.
Her husband recorded the altercation on Monday morning, and now the family is demanding an explanation from Fairfield Police.
The Guzman family says they were treated like criminals instead of worried parents after their son became the center of an Amber Alert. They're happy to have their son home, but they're saying police made a terrible situation worse.
The video shot by Paul Guzman picks up as Fairfield Police decide to take an emotional Suzanne Guzman to the ground.
The Fairfield mother had called the same police officers to her home after her car was stolen from her driveway with her 8-year-old son, Broc in the back seat.
"The cop grabbed her and and they dragged her down here too around the corner, where they slammed her to the ground and handcuffed her," he said.
He says Fairfield Police officers insisted on first searching their home, something he says Suzanne stopped them from doing until Paul returned to corral their dogs.
"We have two dogs and one of them would bite somebody that they didn't know coming into the house," he said.
RAW VIDEO: Video From Paul Guzman
WARNING: Video Features Strong Language
The video shows the officer trying to explain what is standard procedure.
Paul says regardless, they were treated like criminals.
"As soon as they got here we felt like we were being treated like we had done something to our son," he said.
Eventually the suspect would abandon the car with Broc asleep in the back seat. Guzman says he doesn't believe it was the cops who helped find his son.
"It wasn't the Fairfield PD that we give credit to for finding him, it was my buddy putting it on social media," he said.
Fairfield Police released a statement defending their actions, saying Brock's mother was stopping them from searching the home.
RAW VIDEO: Fairfield Body Cam Footage
WARNING: Video Features Strong Language.
Officers released body cam footage of the alteration. They say an officer noticed a reddish substance on the carpet when they looked through the door.