Coronavirus: Former police officer handcuffed in front of six-year-old daughter due to social distancing measures

‘If you don’t identify yourself we’re going to put you in handcuffs’

A former police officer was handcuffed while throwing a softball with his six-year-old daughter in a local park.

Matt Mooney, a former Colorado State patrol trooper, was handcuffed for not properly abiding by social distancing rules, in an incident caught on video.

Mr Mooney told ABC News that he walked to a nearby field with his wife and young daughter and practised social distancing rules throughout.

“We’re just having a good time, not near anybody else. The next closest person is at least 15 feet away from me and my daughter at this point,” he said.

Mr Mooney proceeded to throw a softball around with his daughter, but soon after, police officers arrived and told his family and others in the park that they had to leave.

The 33-year-old told officers that he and his family had not broken any social distancing rules and refused to show them ID, as he didn’t believe he had reason to.

Mr Mooney told the outlet: “They didn’t like that idea. They then proceeded to make a threat against me saying, ‘If you don’t give us your identification, if you don’t identify yourself, we’re going to put you in handcuffs in front of your 6-year-old daughter’.”

He refused and was handcuffed by the officers, who made him wait in the police car while they called their supervisor for advice.

The incident was filmed by Kirby Wallin, a former councillor for the area.

Mr Mooney added that his daughter “got to witness a violation of civil rights. She got to witness an unlawful order by the police”.

The Brighton Police Department issued a statement, apologising for the actions of the officers.

“While the investigation sorts through the different versions of what took place by witnesses who were at the park, it is evident there was an overreach by our police officers,” the statement read.

“It is imperative that we improve communication with our front line first responders so they are up to date on the latest rules in place regarding Covid-19 for addressing public safety.”

According to a tracking project hosted by Johns Hopkins University, upwards of 399,029 people have tested positive for coronavirus in the US. The death toll has reached at least 12,911.