BLACK LIVES STILL MATTER!!!
A disturbing video has gone viral of a Black mother, identified as Ms. Sellers, getting her two-day-old child snatch out of her hands by at least half a dozen cops and hospital workers. As she tried to leave the hospital, the police encircled the woman and impede her exit, but were they right to use what some are calling “excessive force?”
The footage begins with a harrowing scene showing a mother in a hospital corridor attempting to leave with her newborn. In images that viewers may find distressing, the woman is surrounded and then restrained by a number of people. The video identifies them as hospital staff, law enforcement, and CPS workers.
The video shows Baby Zephaniah in his car seat being violently removed from his mother while she is not looking. As various members of the crowd restrain Ms. Sellers, one can be seen choking her. The man identified only as a “staff hospital member” places his hands around Ms. Sellers neck while she struggles to gasp for air screaming “I can’t breathe.” Ms. Sellers does not appear to be resisting restraint. In fact, at one point, she tells them that her bag and how they are handling her is the only reason she can’t comply with one of their requests.
Once cuffed, the officers loosen their grip on Ms. Sellers, although she can still be seen with several pairs of hands holding on to her arms. The video then shows Ms. Sellers being marched down a corridor screaming, “where’s my baby?” She is then ushered into a room and told that she is being detained for being disorderly.
People are furious about the incident and have taken to social media to inform the public of the details!
“Ms. Sellers arrived at Baptist Hospital Lexington to give birth to her baby boy. Zephaniah was born without complications on May 17, 2021, at 5:06 am. She NEVER abused nor neglected her child yet, a CPS report was made by Holly Rollins, a Social Worker at Baptist Hospital,” BlackOut posted on Twitter.
“Ms. Sellers asked the CPS worker to leave her room which she was well within her right but the worker contacted security and law enforcement to detain Zephaniah at the hospital. The CPS worker had NO court order to remove Zephaniah,” the profile continued.
A petition issued on the site moveon.org, explains the details of the case. The petition is titled “Bring Zephaniah Home” and is signed by Amanda Wallace, BSW, Tafarrah J Austin, MPA, and Kimmaire Sellers.
It begins, “on May 19, 2021, at only 2 days old, Zephaniah was taken from his mother unnecessarily by the Kentucky Child Protection System (CPS).
“The events taking place in Lexington, Kentucky are alarming. A two-day-old baby was ripped from his mother’s hands without just cause by the Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services (CPS). This mother had not abused nor neglected her child, but the Cabinet kidnapped this Newborn baby right out of his mother’s hands.”
The petition states that the reason for the removal of Baby Zephaniah stemmed from a malicious report made by hospital staff.
An update to the petition on July 19, reveals that “on July 9, 2021, CPS filed an amended petition alleging NEW grounds for the removal of Zephaniah on May 19, 2021. This proves Kentucky CPS knows their initial petition was not sufficient when it was filed on May 19. The amended petition contains more lies and fabrications in an attempt by Kentucky CPS to cover up this injustice.”
The petition details further court proceedings in the case. An adjudication hearing is set for August 13, 2021, the petition notes.
No subsequent details have been made available. The petition closes with a “Call to Action” requesting that readers, “please contact Mary Carpenter, Director of Kentucky’s Community Based Services, and demand that this child be released from custody immediately.”
“Operation Stop CPS” is documenting the case. They report that baby Zephaniah tested positive for COVID-19. They claim the baby contracted the virus while in the custody of the Fayette County Cabinet for Health and Family Services. Images also show the baby’s hair rubbed or falling out and it is alleged that the baby also has “severe diaper rash.”
This story is developing.