A Black father is outraged after Ohio cops pulled him over for an expired tag and tinted windows before ordering his family out of the car and searching through the pockets of his 5-year-old son while the boy’s hands were raised.
Parma police said they were only doing it for the “child’s safety,” but the boy’s father said they had no probable cause to search his car, much less his little boy, who he said remains shaken by the experience.
“He’s reenacting it with his toys. That’s not cool,” the boy’s father, Brandon Wilson, told KNOP News. “They could have went about it a whole different way. The officers didn’t have to touch him. I don’t care what y’all do to me.”
Parma police claimed they had probable cause to search the car and its occupants because a police dog alerted them to the presence of drugs inside the car — but that turned out to be false because police found no drugs in the car.
And several studies over the years indicate that police dogs often provide false alerts of drugs in vehicles, getting it wrong anywhere from 50 percent of the time to 85 percent of the time.
Other studies indicate police dogs are acting on the racial bias of their police handlers, considering Black and Latino drivers can be anywhere from 2.5 times to four times as likely to see their car consensually searched for drugs during traffic stops than white drivers – even though white drivers are more likely to have illegal drugs in their cars.
“When police in Illinois performed a consent search in 2013, white motorists were far more likely than minority motorists to be found with contraband,” according to a 2014 report published by the ACLU Illinois, which refers to “consent searches,” the term police use for when motorists give permission to have their vehicles searched. The ACLU found state data showed that white motorists were more likely than Blacks and Hispanics to have contraband when such searches were conducted.
“Specifically, white motorists were 49% more likely than Black motorists, and 56% more likely than Hispanic motorists.”
There is no denying that police dogs have been historically used in the United States against Black people to capture runaway enslaved people during the 19th century and to attack Black citizens who have not acted aggressively since then, which continues today.
So despite the excuses provided by the Parma Police Department to justify the search, they will likely be sued by the Black family whose rights they violated, according to a statement issued by the Elkhatib Law Office in Cleveland.
“The search of a five-year-old child is particularly egregious. The police claim this was for the child’s ‘safety,’ yet the facts paint a different picture: a frightened child raising his hands and being unnecessarily searched while no evidence of danger or controlled substances was present. This was not about safety—it was an abuse of power that inflicted unnecessary trauma on an innocent child.”
The Traffic Stop
The incident took place on Dec. 26 when Brandon Wilson said he drove across the street from his home in Parma to his mother’s home and was pulled over by police because his license tag had expired in September 2024.
Police also claimed his tinted windows were too dark, but another study indicated Black people made up 75 percent of traffic stops in Ohio for illegal tints, demonstrating a clear racial bias during these traffic stops.
A short video was recorded by Wilson’s brother showing the cops frisking both father and son.
“Dad didn’t give you nothing, right?” one of the cops can be heard asking the boy.
But the cops found nothing after their invasive search so Wilson was cited for the expired tag and tinted windows and allowed to leave.
“My son right here and he’s going in my son’s pockets,” Wilson told Cleveland 19. “I’m like, ‘Y’all shouldn’t touch him at all in the first place,’ and then y’all search my car and there’s nothing in there.”
Parma police issued the following statement after the incident:
“Our decision to conduct this search was influenced by the increasing prevalence of tragic incidents where children have been harmed or killed after accidentally coming into contact with dangerous substances. In Ohio and across the nation, there have been cases where children have overdosed on drugs that were negligently left within their reach. This is a risk our officers work to prevent. In this case, our review process has confirmed that the officer acted reasonably, professionally, and with the child’s safety as a primary concern.”
But The Elkhatib Law Office vowed to seek justice over the traffic stop.
“We will vigorously audit and investigate every aspect of this incident to expose how and why it escalated. We will hold the Parma Police Department accountable for their actions and ensure that this family receives the justice they deserve.
This event raises critical questions about constitutional violations, police overreach, and the lack of accountability in law enforcement. Our office will not rest until we uncover the full truth and ensure that those responsible are held to account.
This matter is far from resolved. Stay tuned.”
Wilson said he has tried to teach his son to respect police, but this incident makes it difficult because he now fears police.
“I own my house. I pay my taxes,” Wilson told Cleveland 19. “They just seen me and thought, ‘He looks like he’s up to no good.’”
