Black Arizona father handcuffed after calling 911 to report daughter’s kidnapping, then fired from job after video goes viral

An Arizona man has been fired from his job after a video surfaced online showing him being detained by police after calling for help to report a baby being kidnapped.

Darnay Cockrell called 911 on Aug. 6 after the mother of his 4-year-old daughter allegedly took the kid from his Mesa, Arizona, apartment. He said the lady showed up at his house and would not leave, then ran away with the kid when he wasn’t looking.

But when police arrived on the scene and encountered Cockrell, the situation became turbulent.

A video recorded by a bystander that quickly went viral on social media shows the 52-year-old combating two cops within the car parking zone of his apartment complex.

The officers attempt to force Cockrell to the bottom as he repeatedly asks them to stop, explaining that he’s recovering from a recent surgery. The officers don’t respond to Cockrell as they focus their efforts on restraining him.

After they finally got him on the bottom and handcuffed, the video shows Cockrell sitting within the car parking zone while two officers query him:

“What’s going on with your baby mama? That’s what I’m trying to figure out,” the officer might be heard asking Cockrell on the recording.

The video shows Cockrell trying to get off the bottom.

“You’ll stay on the ground,” the officer tells Cockrell.

“Don’t touch me again, I swear to God, don’t touch me again,” Cockrell replies.

“You asked for it,” the policeman states.

“Man, I’m pissed off. How the fuck are you going to feel if someone takes your kid away from you?” Cockrell says.

Police have allowed local media to view body camera footage of the person being handcuffed, but haven’t yet released the footage to the general public.

According to ABC15The footage shows that Cockrell’s arrest occurred several minutes after the incident began.

When the primary officer arrived, Cockrell was seen quickly running down the steps to confront him about his daughter and her mother. The officer told Cockrell that police found his daughter and told him to sit down several times, but Cockrell didn’t comply, likely due to a “high level of emotion,” police said in a press release.

Body camera footage has been released showing the primary moments of the conversation between Cockrell and the primary officer to arrive on the scene:

“Hey, she took my baby!” Cockrell might be heard saying to the officer when he arrives on the scene.

“Yes, we’re going out with her. We’re going out with her. Easy. Easy,” the policeman replies.

“Get your hands off me, man!” Cockrell says.

“Hey, relax,” the cop says.

“She took my fucking baby!” Cockrell says.

“Yes, sit down!” replies the officer.

“What are you doing, man? I want to know where my baby is,” Cockrell says.

“We left with your child,” the policeman says.

“I don’t see her,” Cockrell says.

“Yes, because he’s at the intersection, so please calm down,” replies the policeman.

Police called Cockrell’s response to the situation “understandable,” adding that “due to his high level of emotion, he failed to follow reasonable commands given to him by the officer and made comments that raised concerns about the safety of the officers.”

Authorities confirmed that Cockrell was detained but was not arrested or charged with a criminal offense. He was later released and his daughter was returned to him.

Cockrell’s ex-wife was arrested for disorderly conduct under domestic violence laws.

According to GoFundMe, after the police encounter video went viral, Cockrell was fired because he was wearing an organization T-shirt within the video. Fundraising created in his name.

Cockrell filed a criticism with the Mesa Police Department.

After reviewing the criticism, Mesa police said the department found no policy violations within the officers’ response to the incident, but each will undergo additional training. Police said the primary responding officer had recently graduated from the police academy and had been on solo patrol for just two months.