What started as a planned home birth ended in some 10 to 15 Los Angeles Police officers pointing guns inside the home of a Black couple and their newborn, the couple told NBC Los Angeles. “This is predatory,” the mother, Kayla Love, said. “They are just going for people they feel can be a victim. They didn’t know who they were dealing with. We are not letting this slide.”

Kayla Love told the news station when she went into labor, she quickly realized, she didn’t have time for a doula or midwife. She was having complications and had to call paramedics. “I started feeling pain at 9 o’clock. She was here at 9:15,” the mother said of her daughter Fari Love Jones’s birth on June 27. Although paramedics determined he baby was healthy, the mother, daughter, and father, Khari Jones, were rushed to the Los Angeles County and University of Southern California Medical Center, NBC Los Angeles reported. And that’s where the problems started.

The couple didn’t want the hospital drawing blood from the baby. “We said no,” Kayla Love said. “We prefer our child to be seen by a private physician. Don’t want your services. Reserve the right to deny.” It’s unclear how matters escalated, but at one point they were asked if Kayla had Hepatitis. A social worker and Los Angeles Police Department representative also asked the couple about alleged domestic abuse at home, Love and Jones told NBC Los Angeles. “The officer was, as a mother, she was like, don’t you care about your daughter? Don’t you want to answer these questions and get this over with?” Love said. As Love and Jones had already explained, they didn’t want the help and decided to leave the hospital with their child, the news station reported. They went home. “Between 10-15 officers came up in our home, pointing guns at me while I’m holding the baby,” Jones said. “Over a health and wellness check, what they claim to be.” Love and Jones are planning legal action, they told NBC Los Angeles.

The hospital said in a statement the news station obtained: “When there are concerns about the health and welfare of a minor, our medical staff have obligations to report such matters to appropriate social welfare authorities so they can investigate the safety of the home environment.“The couple and their State Sen. Sydney Kamlager questioned the true cause for such concern. “USC is in my District,” Kamlager told NBC Los Angeles. “I am expecting a call from them. LAPD obviously serves my district. I am expecting a call from them.”

Kamlager has been advocating for the couple on social media since receiving word of their struggle. “So last I checked, Black people were successfully having babies and have been for generations,” the Democrat said in a video posted to Twitter on Monday. “And not only were we taking care of our kids, but we were taking care of everybody else’s kids, and so stop responding to us living by sticking guns in our faces and threatening to kill us and our children.”

The police department referenced Kamlager in a statement to NBC Los Angeles:

It was revealed that on June 27, 2021 LAPD officers responded to the 800 Block of West Adams Blvd, Regal Trojan Student Housing, at the University of Southern California after a radio call was created to meet with a social worker from the Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS).

The officers were asked by DCFS to respond to conduct a welfare check on a baby after the mother recently gave birth and left the hospital with the child against medical advice.  After the officers met with the social worker at the location, they escorted the social worker to an apartment.  A male adult inside the home refused to open the door and let them check on the welfare of the baby after being repeatedly asked to do so by the social worker, officers, and an LAPD supervisor at the scene.

As the officers entered the apartment, they were concerned for their safety as they cleared the apartment for any threats and made sure the male inside was not armed.  The male adult was briefly detained but none of the occupants were arrested.  The baby and mother were not in the same room as the male adult and no weapons were ever pointed at the mother and child.

No crime report has been completed for this incident.  The LAPD has initiated a personnel complaint to address the allegations raised by the social media post.  An LAPD Staff level command officer has reached out to Senator Kamlager to provide details of this incident.  The LAPD strives to treat all persons with dignity and respect and we will continue our commitment to transparency while ensuring the safety of our officers in turbulent and dangerous situations.”

Kamlager said after speaking to an LAPD representative her questions remained unanswered. “Somebody told me this was messy — it’s not,” she said in a tweet on Wednesday. “It’s only messy when you are Black and demand agency over your life. Baby is healthy. Guns and battering ram are finally gone. Handcuffs are off. But questions remain. As does the demand for change.”