A shocking video of a woman’s house being approached by police in military gear has gone viral on TikTok and sparked debate about the role of American police.
In a series of videos, user @yaraandmomma alleges that the police acted on a six-year old tip to storm her home, where she was staying with her baby, holding guns and riot shields.
According to @yaraandmomma, she has consulted a lawyer and been informed that what the police did was “perfectly legal.”
In the first video of the series, @yaraandmomma stitches with another TikTok discussing the 100-mile-radius around the border where some of the people’s constitutional rights are limited, per the ACLU.
While it is unclear if this information is actually applicable to @yaraandmomma’s case, she nevertheless uses this video as an opportunity to discuss her run-in with law enforcement.
@yaraandmomma #stitch with @inkbottlezandquillz Part 1: We No longer have the 4th amendment protection against illegal search and seizures and it already happening! #constitutionalrights #4thamendment #ithappenedtome ♬ original sound – YaraAndMomma
“Police—a full militia, military-grade artillery, came to my door, pointing guns through the window at me, banging on my window, banging on my door, looking for someone who hadn’t been in the home that I live in for over six years,” she says in her video.
“Six-year-old, stale intel brought a full military militia to my door, pointing guns at me…pointing guns at my one-and-a-half-year-old daughter, looking for someone who had nothing to do with me,” she continues. “And I spoke to lawyers, and I can do nothing about it. It’s perfectly legal. Because they didn’t arrest me and they didn’t physically harm me, everything was by law.”
She followed up this video with another one captured by a Ring doorbell showing the police approaching her property.
@yaraandmomma Never thought this would happen to me. I’ve never been so afraid in my life. Never been afraid to simply live. Watching Cocomelon with my daughter and this comes to my doorstep #amerikkkannightmare #policeoftiktok #policestate #PlutoTVIsFree ♬ original sound – YaraAndMomma
There are eight officers in the video, all wearing body armor and armed. Some carry shields, while others carry larger weapons.
The video corroborates her story. One officer has his weapon drawn and is pointing at the door before they attempt to knock or ring the doorbell.
Eventually, the officers ring her doorbell and @yaraandmomma’s fiance answers, sorting out the confusion.
“Never thought this would happen to me. I’ve never been so afraid in my life,” she writes in the caption. “Never been afraid to simply live. Watching Cocomelon with my daughter and this comes to my doorstep.”
Further videos recount her full story.
@yaraandmomma Replying to @colossalwarriordara Part 2 or Part 1 of the story time #amerikkkannightmare #policeoftiktok #policestate ♬ original sound – YaraAndMomma
@yaraandmomma Replying to @itstiapaige too many parts so idk where we’re at but this one reveals who they were looking for. #amerikkkannightmare #policeoftiktok #policestate ♬ original sound – YaraAndMomma
In these videos, @yaraandmomma claims that the gun visible in the video was pointed directly at her, despite her apparently not posing a threat and not having a criminal history.
The actual reason the police were there, @yaraandmomma states, is that there was a sex offender who used to live in the same building. However, this man moved out of the building over six years ago, and the TikToker’s friends have owned the house for the past five years.
In the latter video, @yaraandmomma speculates that her situation ended quickly because she was accompanied by her fiance, who is white. If she was dating a person of color, she says, the police would have assumed that she was harboring the sexual offender in question, who is Black.
“Would they have believed me?” she questions if only non-white people were present at the time of the police’s arrival. “If you had done any surveillance on the house, you would have seen that no Black men other than delivery men come to our home. No one lives here! [My fiance] is the only man that lives in this house!”
The TikToker proceeds to question why the police felt the need for “a full militia.”
“If you’re looking for one man who’s a sex offender and you’re not looking for a whole gang, you didn’t need all that at my front door,” she states.
Her final video discusses legality.
@yaraandmomma Replying to @toya.dtv We are losing our rights to live in peace, not that black people truly had this right to begin with #amerikkkannightmare #policeoftiktok #policestate ♬ original sound – YaraAndMomma
In short, she says she has already contacted a lawyer, who informed her that the police were within their rights. However, she is still interested in pursuing legal action if there is an avenue to do so.
On TikTok, users supported @yaraandmomma and pointed out the many issues with her video.
“They have no idea what they’re doing. Just out here making people feel unsafe in their homes,” wrote one user.
“That’s what happens when you spend all of your money on military gear and pennies on training,” added another.
We’ve reached out to @yaraandmomma via TikTok comment.
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