Grieving father sues after police searched for drugs in urn containing ashes of daughter

Spingfiled, USA – A grieving father is suing the city of Springfield, Illinois after police tested his deceased daughter’s ashes, suspecting they were drugs.

Police body cam shows how the disturbing incident unfolded. Dartavius Barnes was driving on 6 April 6th, 2020 when Springfield police officers pulled him over. When officers asked if they could search his car, he was compliant.

About 20 minutes into the video, an officer told Mr Barnes he had found ecstasy or methamphetamine in his vehicle. Confused, Mr Barnes asked to see what the police officer was talking about.

When the officer indicated what he meant, a small, gold-coloured vial of ashes, Mr Barnes’ voice rose in horror.

“No, no, no, that’s my daughter, bro!” he shouted. “Give me that, bro! That’s my daughter!”

The officer had actually tested the remains of Ta’Naja Barnes, Mr Barnes’ two-year-old daughter, who died in 2019. Ta’Naja’s mother, Twanka Davis, was convicted of causing the girl’s death through neglect and starvation.

Barnes is now suing the City of Springfield as well as the six specific officers involved in the traffic stop.

In the lawsuit, he says the police ‘unlawfully searched his vehicle, opened the urn without his consent, and desecrated his daughter’s remains.’

Police have denied any wrongdoing, claiming all though his version of events accurate they had not actually violated his rights.

In a report that police wrote on the incident, one officer wrote, “I have seen similar items like this before utilized to contain narcotics.”

In the body cam footage, police can be heard talking about their mistake.

“I’m just going to give him a notice to appear on the weed,” one officer states, referring to marijuana they’d found in Barnes’ car.

“Aside from p***ed-off dad and testing the dead baby ashes,” another officer responds.