A woman who was intentionally run over with a U-Haul pickup truck during a custody battle in Los Angeles earlier this year — a chaotic scene captured on the officer’s dashcam and body-worn cameras — is speaking out about the violent ordeal.
According to an LAPD news release, the attack occurred Oct. 1 after Harbor Division officers responded to calls about the dispute in the parking lot of a Target store at Gaffey Street and Capitol Drive in San Pedro.
The victim, April Barnes, who was helping a friend who is the foster parent of a 5-year-old boy, told KTLA’s Omar Lewis that she spent the last month trying to make sense of the whole thing.
“I just do not understand. I’m trying my best, but I just can’t do it,” she said. “I was in disbelief that I was actually run over.”
When she and her friend, the foster parents of the boy’s cousin, arrived to pick him up, the five-year-old’s mother, 39-year-old Miesha Scott, refused to return him after a visit.
“She said she wasn’t giving it back, she was suicidal and she had a gun,” Barnes said.
Worried, Barnes and her friend called 911 for help.
“I’m in an emergency situation. “You need more help with this – please don’t do this,” Scott can be seen telling officers with their body-worn cameras.
After officers contacted the Department of Children and Family Services, Barnes said the 39-year-old woman agreed to return her son to his foster parents and got in the truck to leave.
“I said please keep her there so we can get out of here, and before I could ask him for the case number so we can reference it, she came attacking,” Barnes told KTLA.
Surveillance footage shows Scott running over Barnes before leading police on a five-minute chase, crashing into a tree and being taken into custody. The 39-year-old was taken to hospital due to her injuries sustained in the accident.
Video released by the LAPD shows a custody dispute in San Pedro on October 1, 2023 that led to a shootout and police chase. (LAPD)
Video released by the LAPD shows a custody dispute in San Pedro on October 1, 2023 that led to a shootout and police chase. (LAPD)
Video released by the LAPD shows a custody dispute in San Pedro on October 1, 2023 that led to a shootout and police chase. (LAPD)
Video released by the LAPD shows a custody dispute in San Pedro on October 1, 2023 that led to a shootout and police chase. (LAPD)
Video released by the LAPD shows a custody dispute in San Pedro on October 1, 2023 that led to a shootout and police chase. (LAPD)
Barnes said she has been in excruciating pain since the violent incident, but that her biggest concern is the little boy who witnessed the entire situation from a nearby car.
“I hope this little guy has a good chance of growing up and being a healthy young man,” she said. “The worst part was when we were walking away with him and she screamed ‘I love you’ and I don’t want him to see that as love.”
She also hopes police learn from what happened that night too.
“She threatened to do something to us in front of the officers, so we thought that was a clear sign that she was not well and that she was a threat,” Barnes said. “How they let her get in the car and drive off, I don’t know if that’s the case or not. I hope that’s not the case.”
Scott now faces two counts of attempted murder and assault with a deadly weapon on an officer.
Meanwhile, Barnes said the child’s foster parent is trying to place him with family members out of state for his own safety.
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