*The pregnant Sacramento mother who was held at police gunpoint with her 8-year-old son wants the department to pay for her child’s therapy sessions.
“My son was yelling and pleading, ‘Please don’t take my mom.’ He was crying,” Shanice Stewart said, NBC News reports. “It really bothers him to talk about it. I don’t want him to have it bottled inside.”
We reported previously via CNN that Stewart, who is nine months pregnant, and her son Brandon, were stopped by police in Sacramento, California, and held at gunpoint in what the department calls “a case of mistaken identity.”
Stewart was driving the child to football practice last Tuesday when officers initiated what they called a “high-risk” traffic stop.
“We could have been shot,” Stewart told CNN.
The Sacramento Police Department said in a statement to CNN they were looking for a juvenile suspect who “was wanted for two felony warrants, including a warrant for gun possession.”
Four police cars and a helicopter surrounded Stewart’s car, believing her third-grader was a teenager wanted on two felonies.
“That’s when I was moreso hurt,” said Stewart, NBC News reports. “I was like, ‘My 8-year-old? My baby? Are you serious? I was hurt, I was angry, terrified for him. I don’t understand how a mistake can go toward an 8-year-old. It could’ve ended so badly.”
According to Stewart, her son has been left traumatized following the Oct. 17 incident and she wants police to cover the cost of his therapy.
In a statement to NBC News, the Sacramento police said: “We must acknowledge that a case of mistaken identity occurred. Our officers provided an explanation and an apology to the mother and her son.”
The department continued, “Our department has been in contact with the mother since the incident. We recognize the impact that police interactions can have on our community members.”
Stewart filed a complaint with the city’s Internal Affairs Division, according to NBC News.
“He’s definitely going to have to deal with therapy for a while,” Stewart said of the lasting impact the police encounter will have on her son. “He’s never been through that before, being pulled over and having a gun pulled out on him. We both are going through pain and suffering. Compensation for pain and suffering because this is going to cause some things in the future.”
READ MORE: Mother and 8-year-old Son Detained At Gunpoint in Sacramento in ‘Mistaken Identity’ Stop | VIDEO
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