Sen. London Lamar, a Memphis Democrat, called the actions “ridiculous” and an “overuse of power.”
“DCS, Coffee County, y’all need to do the right thing before the situation gets worse, and we have a nation of people coming to the rescue of this Black family,” she said.
“Give them their children back. It’s borderline discrimination, because if this was any other family, as their attorney said, we don’t even think this would be the outcome,” she said.
Bianca Clayborne and Deonte Williams were on I-24 heading to a funeral — kids asleep in the back — when a Tenn. Highway Patrol officer pulled them over for “dark tint and traveling in the left lane while not actively passing.”
Reporting by @anitawadhwanihttps://t.co/Cj2y2wNBBP
— Tennessee Senate Democrats (@TNSenateDems) March 16, 2023
Sen. Raumesh Akbari, also a Memphis Democrat, said the “goal should be to keep families together because babies and young children belong with their parents.”
“It is outrageous that the state forcefully separated Bianca Clayborne, a breastfeeding mother, and Deonte Williams from their kids and have allowed this to continue for nearly a month,” she said. “The state exercised extreme and flawed judgment in taking their children and it seems they’ve doubled down on this poor decision.”
“No family is perfect, but an imperfection, like a simple marijuana charge, is no excuse for tearing a family apart. The state is supposed to support reunification….
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