Dravon Ames and Iesha Harper are filing a $10 million civil lawsuit against police officers with the assistance of Alex Spiro after their tense confrontation over a shoplifting incident went viral.
- Jun 18, 2019
AceShowbiz - Jay-Z is helping to provide a top lawyer for a black family held at gunpoint by police officers in Phoenix, Arizona over a shoplifting incident.
Dravon Ames, his pregnant fiancee Iesha Harper, and their four-year-old girl had just left a Family Dollar discount store on May 29 when they were confronted by aggressive cops who threatened to shoot them while they were sitting in their car.
Unbeknownst to the couple, its daughter had picked up a Barbie doll on her way out of the shop, without having her parents pay for it.
In video footage of the tense confrontation, one of the policemen can be heard screaming at Ames and Harper, "Get your f***ing hands up! I'm gonna f***ing put a cap (bullet) in your a**...! You're going to f***ing get shot!"
The couple can be heard insisting, "Our hands are up," as a distressed Harper tells the officer she is pregnant.
The disturbing clip has since gone viral, prompting Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego to condemn the "completely inappropriate and clearly unprofessional" actions of the officers, while authorities have launched an investigation into the situation, and placed the cops involved on desk duty.
On Saturday, June 15, Ames and Harper filed a $10 million (£8 million) civil lawsuit against city officials, and according to The Blast, rap mogul and criminal justice reform advocate Jay-Z has hired legal eagle Alex Spiro to join the family's team free of charge.
Spiro will also assist them in filing charges against one member of law enforcement for child neglect.
Representatives for the "Empire State of Mind" hitmaker, who was recently crowned hip-hop's first billionaire by Forbes magazine experts, have yet to comment on the news.
