The video is chilling.

“Get your f--king hands up,” a Phoenix police officer is heard screaming, over and over again. “You’re gonna f--king get shot.”

One officer is seen handcuffing a young African American man who is face down on the asphalt, then yanking him up against a patrol car and roughly kicking his legs apart.

“When I tell you to do something you (expletive) do it!” the officer screams.

“I am,” the man calmly replies.

Meanwhile, another officer has his gun drawn and briefly pointed at the back seat of the SUV, out of which emerge a pregnant woman and two young children.

Watching this video, you would guess the police were in the process of apprehending a dangerous felon, sweeping some violent menace off the mean streets of Phoenix.

Or maybe … a shoplifting suspect?

4-year-old took a dollar-store doll, parents say

Shoplifting?

It’s too soon to draw any conclusions from the video, which was taken by residents of the apartment complex and begins partway through the confrontation.

But it doesn't look good. Clearly, Phoenix police have some explaining to do.

The video of the May 27 encounter near 36th Street and Roosevelt was released on Tuesday. It shows police officers outside the parked car of Dravon Ames, 22, his pregnant fiancée, Iesha Harper, 24, and their 1- and 4-year-old daughters.

Ames said they had just arrived to drop the children off at the babysitter’s apartment when the officers appeared, with the guns pulled, and ordered them out of their SUV.

"A police officer, we don't know who he is, a guy, random guy came up to the door banging on the window with a gun, says he's going to shoot us in our face, telling us to get out of the car,” Ames told reporters on Wednesday.“He hasn't alerted us that we're being pulled over anything."

"It was just a very scary situation I never thought I'd be in,” Harper said. “Traumatizing for me and my daughters.”

Ames told reporters he didn’t know why they were being stopped but said his 4-year-old daughter had earlier taken a doll from a dollar store.

Maupin: Officers dislocated child's arm

Police have confirmed that the officers were investigating a shoplifting incident.

“On June 11, 2019, we were provided video of an officer taking two individuals into custody while investigating a shoplifting incident in the area of 3200 East Roosevelt Street,” Sgt. Tommy Thompson said in a statement. “This occurred after the suspect vehicle was stopped a short distance from the scene of the theft. It involved a man and a woman with two small children.”

Police are investigating to determine whether the officers used excessive force. The couple on Thursday filed a $10 million notice of claim, the precursor to a lawsuit against the city.

"Clearly, the officers felt empowered to be disrespectful and abusive," civil rights activist Jarrett Maupin said, in alerting reporters to the incident. "What we demand to know is, what kind of background these officers have? They held toddlers and a pregnant woman at gun point, grabbed a mother and infant by the neck, dislocated a 1 year old’s arm, endangered a delicate pregnancy, terrorized and tortured a young father, and nobody was charged or jailed. These officers must be held accountable. We want justice.”

Why did officers feel so threatened?

It is difficult to imagine how a dollar store doll could result in a man on the ground, a pregnant woman in handcuffs and two young kids looking down the business end of the gun.

Difficult to imagine how those officers felt threatened enough to act as they did.

It’s difficult not to be tempted to draw conclusions, especially in light of last week’s revelation of social media posts by Phoenix police officers, bashing Muslims and African Americans and endorsing violence.

But for now, we wait for the Phoenix Police Department to give a full accounting of what happened here. And to explain why those officers weren't wearing body cameras which would make it easy to see why they treated this young family like they were on the FBI's 10 Most Wanted list.

For now, I’m reserving judgment.

For now.

It is, however, worth noting that neither Ames nor Harper was arrested.

Reach Roberts at laurie.roberts@arizonarepublic.com.