Police Forced Pregnant Woman to Lay on Her Stomach

KMBC TV | Jul 19, 2007

Pregnant Woman: Police Used Racial Profiling

INDEPENDENCE, Mo. — A pregnant woman who claims Independence police stopped her on Interstate 70 and made her lie on her belly as cars sped by has filed a complaint alleging racial profiling.

Yvette Hayes, who is principal of a Kansas City school, said police stopped her Friday night.

Authorities said her green Jeep Cherokee was thought to have been involved in several break-ins and thefts.

Police said they made the stop after getting a call from security guards at the J.C. Penney Store on 39th Street about a green Jeep.

“I told him that I’m pregnant; I’m almost six months pregnant,” Hayes said.

She said officers still made her lie on her stomach.

“It was humiliating. I was horrified. I was in fear for my life,” Hayes said.

Dr. Jerry Wolfskill, director of the Johnson County Police Academy and a former officer, looked at dashcam video of the police stop.

“You can tell she’s obviously upset,” Wolfskill said. “I can understand the woman being so upset about what happened, because she knows she didn’t do anything wrong, but the police officer didn’t know that.”

The tape also has officers trying to console Hayes’ two daughters who were in the car with her that night.

Police said the dashcam video is farther away than usual because the dashcam equipment in the cruiser closest to Hayes’ car was not working on Friday night.

Wolfskill said the officers may have been doing the right thing if they had good reason to think the car they were stopping was involved in a felony.

“If that’s the procedure that they’re taught and they implement that procedure in every car stop, then that would be, yes,” Wolfskill said.

“Even with a pregnant person?” KMBC’s Maria Antonia asked.

“Even with a pregnant person,” Wolfskill said.

He said that at the police academy, they teach officers to order people to their knees, rather than make them lie on their stomachs. However, he said a kneeling suspect can be more risky for the officer.

Hayes has filed a complaint with the city of Independence and is talking to an attorney about possible legal action.

Hayes said a doctor is monitoring the health of her baby.

Meanwhile, Independence police are investigating. The chief said it appears that procedure was followed.