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A Utah police chief recently defended an officer who pulled a gun on a 10-year-old African-American boy because the officer believed the child may have been armed. The officer will continue to work while an independent review is underway USA Today reported.

Jerri Hrubes said the officer pulled his gun on her son D.J. while he was playing on his grandmother’s front yard.

Woods Cross Police Department, a town north of Salt Lake City, have asked the Davis County Attorney’s office to review the officer’s actions and how the agency responded, Chief Chad Soffe said according to the news outlet. The unnamed officer mistook the boy for a potential suspect, but used good judgment overall the chief said.

“We want to learn from this; we don’t want people to be traumatized by our efforts to protect the community,” he added. Hrubes said her son didn’t have any objects in his hands when the incident took place.

The officer told the 10-year-old to put his hands in the air and get on the ground and told him not to ask questions. After Hrubes confronted the officer, he got in his car and left, she said.

Soffe said the officer was part of a group chasing suspects of a shooting and were told the suspects were black, Hispanic or Polynesian, he said. Hrubes family attorney said the mother was upset and still had unanswered questions.

Hrubes said the officer returned and apologized later the same day, however, the incident left her feeling unsafe inside her home

“If it’s true that the justification to point a gun at this child is because they were told the suspects might be black, Hispanic or Polynesian, are they saying this officer was entitled to stop and point his gun at every male fitting that description?” said Karra Porter, an attorney working with the family.

Hrubes doesn’t want the officer fired, but would be satisfied with an outside review Porter said.

Lex Scott, leader of the Utah chapter of Black Lives Matter said her organization is demanding the officer be fired. Scott said the organization plans to protest outside the police agency’s offices. Adding that the group is in the process of filing a complaint with the FBI’s civil rights division.

“The fact that this police officer still has a job, and they’ve defended his actions, sends a message that any officer can go out, aim a gun at a 10-year-old kid, and that’s OK,” Scott said. “And that’s not OK to do.”

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