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Crime, Law and Justice
Maplewood, Minn.

'When is it going to stop?': Mothers speak out after children detained by Maplewood police

Maplewood police said officers detained the children — between the ages of 10 and 16 — for about 40 minutes, putting them in handcuffs for 20 of them.

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By Charmaine Nero, KARE 11

Tanya Gile stood in front of the Maplewood Police Department with community members less than 24 hours after cell phone video was shared online, showing four kids being detained by Maplewood officers.

"It's like living in hell," said Gile. "I'm so glad it was able to be publicized so people can know what we deal with on a regular basis with our children."

Maplewood police say Monday night they received a call reporting four teens outside of a business just after 9:30 p.m., followed by sounds of gunfire.

"At 9:35 p.m., officers responded to the area and noticed five juveniles. When an officer approached the juveniles, two ran from the scene and voluntarily returned to talk to officers," said Lt. Joe Steiner, with Maplewood PD.

Lt. Steiner says officers had probable cause to detain the children — who he said were between the ages of 10 and 16 — for about 40 minutes. He says they were handcuffed for 20 of those minutes.

"After officers reviewed surveillance, the juveniles were not the original juveniles seen on surveillance. Following that determination the juveniles were released," he said. 

"It was just a motherly instinct; my baby was gone too long — I gotta go drive to see if she's OK," said mother Cokeila Taylor.

Taylor describes the moment she first arrived on scene to see her 12-year-old daughter sitting in the back of a police car.

"I get there and my baby is screaming and crying in the back," she said. "They have no idea what it's like to get a call like that from my son saying, 'Mom, they have me in the back of a police car in handcuffs,'" said Toshira Garraway.

Giles' 14-year-old son, Marcoz Paramo, was killed following a police pursuit in Maplewood last year. Now, parents worry this latest incident leaves their kids in fear.

"They're already traumatized from Marcoz, their best friend, so now this. When is it going to stop?" said Taylor.

Maplewood police say the officers acted professionally and that the seriousness of the crime and gunfire in a residential neighborhood factored into the decision to detain the kids.

Police say they are working to locate the people responsible for firing off those shots.