Gulfport Police Accused Of Pointing Guns At Dad, Mom, 4 Kids

GULFPORT, MS — A Gulfport, Mississippi, resident mistook an African-American man, his wife and four children for burglars and called police, who swarmed the family's car and pointed guns at them, the man said.

Kelvin Fairley and his family live in California but were in Gulfport to check on a house they're renovating, WLOX-TV reported. Someone called police on his family Sunday, believing a break-in was underway, he said.

The family left and was pulled over in traffic. The responding officers wouldn't say why they stopped the car though, Fairley told the Sun Herald. He said officers put him and his wife, Natasha Krikorian, in handcuffs and held the family at gunpoint. A 12-year-old nephew and Fairley's three children — sons who are 12 and 16 and a daughter who's 9 — were in the car.

"I totally think they racially profiled me," Fairley told the newspaper. "They never would even tell me why they stopped me. From the moment they pulled us over, there were six to seven police cars. They immediately had their guns drawn."

Fairley, who is a registered nurse, and Krikorian, who is a psychologist, later went to the Gulfport Police Department to report how officers had treated them. A video shot by Fairley's sister, who went to the police station with them, showed that when Fairley told a white officer what had happened, the officer replied: "Obviously, you don't understand our business." The officer said police have to use caution when approaching possible suspects. After a short exchange, the officer told Fairley to file a written complaint.

Fairley told the TV station that the children were terrified by the traffic stop.

"I'm watching my 9-year-old daughter bawling her eyes out, saying she wanted her daddy," he said.

Gulfport police said the allegation of officer misconduct is under investigation.

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