KENOSHA, Wis. — Charges are now dropped after a terrifying encounter inside a Kenosha Applebee's back in July.
Kenosha Police approached a black couple inside the restaurant who they suspected to be involved in a recent hit and run. The couple was wrongfully and forcefully arrested. They were charged with resisting an officer and disorderly conduct.
"I just hear my child screaming and I cannot help. I'm helpless to my child," Shanya Boyd explained.
Boyd recalled the terrifying moments her family was confronted back in July.
Body camera footage shows Kenosha police officers inside the restaurant questioning Boyd and her partner Jermelle English.
This was nearly an hour after officers responded to a nearby hit and run, when an Applebee's employee called police and said they believed Boyd and English were the suspects.
"Imagine being helpless and you just hear the screaming, traumatized," Boyd said.
Body camera shows police throwing Boyd to the ground, with officers on top of her, with another one pepper spraying her. At the same time, other officers are also in the Applebee's talking with the actual hit and run suspects in the bathroom.
"I can't see. And to know that after everything I still went to jail, I still, my child still got took from me," Boyd added.
Boyd and her partner were both arrested and charged with disorderly conduct and resisting an officer.
"They still put the charges on me. I could've got my child taken," Boyd said.
A life-changing moment for Boyd that could have been avoided. Boyd's attorney is now fighting for procedural change inside Kenosha's force.
"If you agree to these policy and procedural changes, we can help make this community better. If they close the door on us, like they've done for the first five months, hopefully they're not gonna do it now, but if they continue to do that then we have no choice but to file a federal suit," Attorney Kevin O'Connor said.
O'Connor said they're considering filing an injunctive relief which means the court could order Kenosha Police to change its own policy.
With charges now dropped, Boyd said it's a sigh of relief for her family, but a long road of recovery still ahead.
"I don't know what to say, I don't know how to feel, we're going through therapy. Getting falsely accused and jumped on by police, brutally by police, that's not something you want to be famous or your name wanna be out there for," Boyd added.
We asked Kenosha Police several questions surrounding their investigation, the charges being dropped, and if they plan to apologize to Boyd and her family. This was the response:
"The facts of the case have not changed. The evidence was presented to the district attorney’s office and they found probable cause to charge the case. A court commissioner agreed that probable cause was established in a preliminary hearing and the case proceeded toward trial. The district attorney’s office ultimately has the authority to dismiss the case and the reasons for the dismissal is a question that should be directed to them."
We also reached out to Kenosha County's District Attorney and the Wisconsin Department of Justice to see if either agency is investigating the officers who wrongfully arrested Boyd and English. We haven't heard back.
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