By: Alyssa Wilson

A Black man is suing the city of Springfield and the Springfield Police Department for what he calls the “desecration” of his 2-year-old daughter’s cremated ashes.  

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According to theGrio, Dartavius Barnes was pulled over by Springfield police for speeding, placed in a squad car and officers searched his car for drugs. During the search, officers said they found a small metal container that tested positive for what they believed to be drugs.  

Body camera footage of the incident shows the moments he tells officers that the container has the ashes of his 2-year-old daughter Ta’Naja Barnes who died as a result of neglect from her mother.  

The lawsuit alleges that the officers searched Barnes’ car without consent or a warrant, opened the ashes and then spilled them during the search, WRSP reported.  

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The officers were identified as Colton Redding, Brian Riebling, Adam Westlake, Juan Resendez, Nicholas Renfro and Regan Molohon. They denied obtaining the ashes unlawfully and spilling them. The case is set to go to trial in August 2022.  

In February 2019, Barnes’ daughter was found unresponsive, wrapped in a urine-soaked blanket. Authorities said she had been neglected and starved for days before her death. His daughter’s mother, T’wanka Davis, was sentenced to 20 years in prison. Davis’ boyfriend Anthony Myers was sentenced to 30 years in prison.  

If you or someone you know is suffering from trauma triggered by this story, resources are available here.