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A Georgia mother says her daughter is now “traumatized” after being handcuffed and detained by DeKalb County police on March 4th in a case of mistaken identity. Now the 11-year-old’s mother Cynthia Hendricks is demanding accountability after officers mistook her daughter as a suspect in an attempted car theft even after she provided them with proof her child was not involved.

“(The officer) placed handcuffs on my daughter, placed her in back of police vehicle with intent to transport her to juvenile detention,” she told 11Alive.

Hendricks said she was shocked when officers showed up at her home and asked for her daughter by name. The officer she talked to explained her daughter was suspected of attempting to steal a neighbor’s car a few minutes earlier. Law enforcement officials told her a girl approx. 16-years-old and two male teens were spotted attempting to break into a car on the same street. The officer reportedly said a neighbor had pointed him to her daughter after the female involved ran away from the scene towards Hendricks’ home.

The mother maintained her daughter’s innocence saying it was no way it was her. Hendricks showed surveillance footage from her Ring doorbell camera showing her child hadn’t left the house since getting home from school that day. Hendricks’ tried to tell the officers her daughter was innocent, however, four officers and four detectives showed up and detained her daughter. “Yes ma’am, she’s being detained right now,” a policeman says in a video captured on the home’s doorbell camera. In the video, an officer is seen cuffing the girl before leading her to a squad car. After her daughter was detained for about 10 minutes when Hendricks says police asked her daughter’s age and the clothing she was last seen wearing. Hendricks says a detective was shocked to learn the girl was 11 years old, and eventually let her go. Now the mother is demanding accountability from police and wants to see changes in how DeKalb County Police handles incidents with children. After her daughter was detained for about 10 minutes when Hendricks says police asked her daughter’s age and the clothing she was last seen wearing. Hendricks says a detective was shocked to learn the girl was 11 years old, and eventually let her go. Now the mother is demanding accountability from police and wants to see changes in how DeKalb County Police handles incidents with children. “Let’s do our due diligence,” Hendricks said. “Let us make sure that everything is good before we go to someone’s house.” Police said the incident is under investigation.

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