PHOENIX - The story of the encounter between Phoenix police officers and a Valley family following an alleged shoplifting incident has gained national attention after videos surfaced of the officers detaining the adults.
One of the lingering questions is whether the parents shoplifted anything from a Family Dollar store or whether it was just their 4-year-old daughter who walked out of the store with a toy doll in a box.
According to the police report, an officer was in the area investigating an unrelated shoplifting incident when Family Dollar employees notified him of another shoplifting. That officer called for backup, saying in a police report that a vehicle drove away before the family's car was eventually located and stopped in an apartment building parking lot.
The police reports also say that Dravon Ames, the father, told police he shoplifted from the store and threw a pair of underwear out of the window of the car, because he knew they were stolen.
Ames and his family deny this. They say they did not steal from the store. The only thing they say was taken from the store was the doll their 4-year-old daughter walked out with, which officers say they located in the vehicle after detaining Ames and his fiancee, Iesha Harper.
Ames and Harper were not arrested.
12 News has obtained audio from the police scanner indicating the store's video didn't verify that Ames or Harper stole anything.
While Harper and Ames were being detained at the apartment complex a mile away, an officer reviewed security camera footage with the Family Dollar store manager.
The officer, who appears to be Nicholas Welch, based on his police report, says over the radio: "We cannot verify anything from video that they were involved at all."
Welch's written police report says the same thing: "After reviewing the footage [store employee] said he could not verify anything was taken in addition to the doll and advised he did not desire prosecution."
We have requested more information from Phoenix police.
Team 12's Ryan Cody asked Ames outside of the Tuesday community meeting if he took anything from the store. Ames responded, "No," then declined to answer more questions.
You can see that clip about one minute into the below video:
On Monday, police released a portion of the surveillance video from the Family Dollar store. Police did not provide any narrative with the video.
"The video is from cameras at different angles and while the entire video is still being redacted, a shortened version has been prepared for release at this time," police said. "The entire video will be available after it has been redacted."
You can find everything we know so far about the incident, including the narrative, what the family is saying and what police are saying by clicking here.