Arizona father loses job after detainment video goes viral. He called 911 to report his child missing

MESA, Ariz. - The Mesa father who was detained after calling 911 to report his daughter was kidnapped has lost his job after video of the incident went viral on social media.

After 6 a.m., 911 dispatchers got a call on Aug. 6 from Darnay Cockrell to report his ex had kidnapped his 4-year-old daughter.

In a FOX 10 report on Aug. 15, Cockrell shared his side of what happened when officers arrived. A video captured by a bystander shows he was detained by two Mesa Police officers minutes after they got there.

He previously explained what happened, saying, "I was on the phone with the dispatcher, and I was like ‘she left.’ He was like, ‘Go locate and see which way she went.’ So I went down the stairs and the officer was walking up, and I was like, 'My baby is gone,' and he ran on the side of me and was like, 'Get on the ground,' and I'm like, 'No, I'm not getting on the ground. My baby is gone.'"

What wasn't filmed by a bystander was his first interaction with the officer.

The department hasn't released the body cam video, but FOX 10's Lindsey Ragas was able to watch it and record the audio on Aug. 20. It showed the very first interaction Cockrell had with the police officer through his body-worn camera.

"It went from a person who called, to a person you tried to lock up," Cockrell said in an Aug. 20 interview.

In the previous interview with Cockrell, he said he was running down the stairs as the officer was making his way up.

"I jumped past him about right here and said ‘Hey my baby mom, she went this way,’" he said.

The audio from the body camera shows the conversation.

Cockrell: "Hey, she took my kid!"

Officer: "Yeah, we're out with her. We're out with her. Relax. Relax."

Cockrell: "Get your hands off me, man!"

Officer: "Hey, relax."

Cockrell: "She took my ******* kid!"

Officer: "Yeah, sit down!"

Cockrell tells the officer he won't sit down and that he has bad knees.

"I don't feel I should be getting on the ground when I'm the parent that's calling and my kid has been taken," Cockrell said.

The audio continues.

Cockrell: "What are you doing man? I want to know where my kid at."

Officer: "We're out with your kid."

Cockrell: "I don't see her."

Officer: "Yeah, because she's at the intersection, so calm down."

About five minutes later, another officer arrives and detains Cockrell.

"He was like, ‘You brought this on yourself’ and then grabbed me and pulled me off my car," the father said.

Cockrell said in the previous interview with FOX 10 that he was emotional, and his heart was racing out of fear for his daughter.

"I'm nervous. I don't know where my kid is at. I don't know the situation, and I'm in a frantic place. My heart is racing. I'm not feeling like I'm this father that's supposed to be protecting his child," Cockrell said.

Handcuffs were later taken off Cockrell, his daughter was returned to him and his ex was arrested and booked in jail on suspicion of disorderly conduct under the domestic violence law.

Cockrell lost his job after the video went viral on social media. Since then, he has been trying to make ends meet by selling snacks.

A GoFundMe has been set up for him to help cover food and rent.

Mesa Police remark on the incident

Full statement from the Mesa Police Department:

This was a call for service that occurred at an apartment complex at 454 W. Brown Rd. on August 6, 2024, just after 6:00am. The reporting party called to say that his ex showed up at his apartment and was threatening to take his children.

Shortly before officers arrived, the ex walked away with one of the children, but was quickly stopped by an officer in the area. Another officer contacted the reporting party, who is the man you see in the video.

The man appeared upset as his daughter was just taken and displayed a high level of emotion, which is understandable; however, because emotions were so high, he was not obeying the officer’s commands and made comments that spiked concern for officer safety. The officer and his back up officer decided to detain the man by placing him in handcuffs as the investigation continued.
Eventually, the man’s handcuffs were removed, and his child was returned to him. The ex was arrested and booked into jail for disorderly conduct under the domestic violence law.

After the call for service was complete, the man filed an internal affairs complaint. The complaint was handed down to the district commander to investigate, which was cleared as unfounded. The officer’s actions were not in violation of department policy; however, upon reviewing the body worn camera video it was determined that supplemental training would be beneficial for both officers as there is always room for improvement.

The man was notified of the findings by a mailed letter on August 12.