Arizona Father Fired After 911 Call Leads to Viral Arrest Video

An Arizona man, Darnay Cockrell, 52, was terminated from his job following a viral video that captured his arrest after he called 911 to report his daughter’s kidnapping. On August 6, Cockrell contacted emergency services around 6 a.m., claiming that his four-year-old daughter had been taken by her mother from their Mesa apartment. As he remained on the line, a dispatcher instructed him to locate the whereabouts of the woman and child, prompting him to run downstairs. Upon his arrival, Cockrell encountered a police officer who informed him that they were with his daughter. Body camera audio reveals a tense exchange where Cockrell, expressing distress, refused to sit down due to his bad knees, insisting he should not be treated this way as the concerned parent. He described the officers' attempts to force him to the ground, stating he was in a frantic state, unsure of his child's safety. Bystander footage shows Cockrell protesting as officers handcuffed him, while he was still wearing his company shirt, which has since led to a GoFundMe campaign launched by a neighbor. Following the incident, Cockrell filed a complaint with the police department, which reported that the officer involved was relatively inexperienced, having only two months of solo patrol duty. An internal investigation found no policy violations, but both officers will undergo additional training.