Black Arizona father is handcuffed after calling 911 to report his daughter's abduction, then fired from his job after video goes viral

An Arizona man was fired after a video circulated online showed him being arrested by police for asking for their help in reporting a child abduction.

Darnay Cockrell called 911 on August 6 after the mother of his 4-year-old daughter allegedly kidnapped the child from his Mesa, Arizona, apartment. He said the woman showed up at his home and didn't leave, then took off with the child when he wasn't looking.

However, when the police arrived and encountered Cockrell, the situation escalated.

A video taken by a passerby and widely shared on social media shows the 52-year-old fighting with two police officers in the parking lot of his apartment complex.

The officers are seen attempting to force Cockrell to the ground as he repeatedly tells them to stop, explaining that he is recovering from a recent surgery. The officers do not respond to Cockrell as they are focused on restraining him.

After he is finally brought to the ground and handcuffed, the video shows Cockrell sitting in the parking lot while the two officers question him:

“What's wrong with your baby's mommy? That's what I'm trying to find out,” a male police officer can be heard asking Cockrell in the video.

The video shows Cockrell trying to get off the ground.

“You stay on the ground,” the officer tells Cockrell.

“Don’t touch me anymore, I swear to God, don’t touch me anymore,” Cockrell replies.

“You have only yourself to blame,” the officer states.

“Man, I'm pissed. How the hell are you going to feel when someone catches your kid?” Cockrell says.

Police allowed local news outlets to view bodycam videos of the handcuffs, but have not yet made the footage publicly available.

According to ABC15, the video shows Cockrell being arrested a few minutes after the encounter began.

When the first officer arrived, Cockrell was seen quickly running down the stairs to confront him about his daughter and her mother. The officer told Cockrell that police had found his daughter and asked him several times to sit down, but Cockrell did not comply, likely due to a “strong outburst of emotion,” a police statement said.

Bodycam audio recordings were released showing the first moments of the conversation between Cockrell and the first police officer who responded to the call:

“Hey, she took my kid!” Cockrell is heard telling the police officer as he arrives.

“Yes, we're out with her. We're out with her. Relax. Relax,” the male police officer replies.

“Get your hands off me, man!” says Cockrell.

“Hey, relax,” says the officer.

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

“Yes, sit down!” the officer replies.

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

“We are on the way with your child,” says the officer.

“I don’t see them,” says Cockrell.

“Yes, because she’s at the intersection, so calm down,” the officer replies.

Police described Cockrell's reaction to the situation as “understandable,” adding: “Due to the high level of emotions, he did not follow the officer's reasonable instructions and made comments that raised concerns for the officer's safety.”

Authorities confirmed that Cockrell was detained but not arrested and was not suspected of any crime. He was later released and his daughter was returned to him.

Cockrell's ex was arrested for disorderly conduct under the Domestic Violence Act.

After the video of the police operation went viral, Cockrell was fired for wearing a company shirt in it, according to a GoFundMe fundraiser set up in his name.

Cockrell filed a complaint with the Mesa Police Department.

After reviewing the complaint, Mesa Police said the department found no code violations in the officers' response during the incident, but that they would both receive additional training. Police said the first officer who responded was a recent graduate of the police academy and had only been on patrol alone for two months.