Arizona father loses job after video of his detention goes viral after he called 911 to report his child missing

MESA, Arizona. – The Mesa father arrested after calling 911 to report his daughter's kidnapping lost his job after a video of the incident went viral on social media.

On August 6, after 6 a.m., the 911 dispatch center received a call from Darnay Cockrell reporting that his ex had kidnapped his four-year-old daughter.

In an Aug. 15 FOX 10 report, Cockrell gave his perspective on what happened when officers arrived. A video taken by a bystander shows him being arrested by two Mesa police officers minutes after they arrived.

He previously explained what happened, saying, “I was on the phone with the dispatcher and I said, 'She's gone.' He said, 'Go find out where she went.' So I went downstairs and the officer came up and I said, 'My baby is gone.' And he ran alongside me and said, 'Lay down on the floor.' And I said, 'No, I'm not laying down on the floor. My baby is gone.'”

What a passerby did not film was his first interaction with the officer.

The department has not released the bodycam video, but FOX 10's Lindsey Ragas was able to view it and capture the audio on August 20. It shows Cockrell's very first interaction with the officer via his body-worn camera.

“It went from a person calling to a person they wanted to lock up,” Cockrell said in an interview on August 20.

In his previous interview with Cockrell, he said he ran down the stairs when the officer came up.

“I skipped past him about here and said, 'Hey, my baby's mommy, she went this way,'” he said.

The audio from the body camera shows the conversation.

Cockrell: “Hey, she took my child!”

Police officer: “Yes, we're out with her. We're out with her. Relax. Relax.”

Cockrell: “Get your hands off me, man!”

Policeman: “Hey, relax.”

Cockrell: “She took my damn child away from me!”

Policeman: “Yes, sit down!”

Cockrell tells the officer that he is not sitting down and that his knees are bad.

“I don't feel like I should be laying on the floor if I'm the parent calling and my child has been taken away from me,” Cockrell said.

The audio playback continues.

Cockrell: “What are you doing, man? I want to know where my child is.”

Policeman: “We are out with your child.”

Cockrell: “I don’t see them.”

Policeman: “Yes, because she’s at the intersection, so calm down.”

About five minutes later, another officer arrives and arrests Cockrell.

“He said, 'You brought this on yourself,' and then he grabbed me and pulled me out of my car,” the father said.

Cockrell said in a previous interview with FOX 10 that he was emotional and his heart was racing out of fear for his daughter.

“I'm nervous. I don't know where my child is. I don't know the situation and I'm in a desperate situation. My heart is racing. I don't feel like the father who's supposed to protect his child,” Cockrell said.

Cockrell was later removed from his handcuffs, his daughter was returned to him, and his ex was arrested and jailed on suspicion of disorderly conduct under the Domestic Violence Act.

Cockrell lost his job after the video went viral on social media and has since been trying to make ends meet by selling snacks.

A GoFundMe was set up for him to help pay for food and rent.

Mesa Police statement on the incident

Full statement from Mesa Police:

This was a 911 call received at an apartment complex located at 454 W. Brown Rd. shortly after 6:00 a.m. on August 6, 2024. The reporter called to say that his ex showed up at his apartment and threatened to take his children away from him.

Shortly before officers arrived, the ex left with one of the children, but was quickly stopped by an officer nearby. Another officer made contact with the reporting man, who can be seen in the video.

The man appeared upset because his daughter had just been kidnapped and displayed a high level of emotion, which is understandable. However, because emotions were running so high, he disobeyed the officer's orders and made comments that increased concerns for his safety. The officer and his backup officer decided to detain the man by placing him in handcuffs while the investigation continued.
Eventually the man's handcuffs were removed and his child was returned. The ex was arrested and sent to prison for disturbing the peace under the Domestic Violence Act.

After the deployment was over, the man filed a complaint with Internal Affairs. The complaint was forwarded to the precinct commander for investigation, who labeled the complaint as unfounded. The officer's actions did not violate department policy. However, after reviewing the body-worn camera video, it was determined that additional training for both officers would be beneficial, as there is always room for improvement.

The man was informed of the results by letter on August 12.