Michigan Girl Who Influenced Grand Rapids Police Reform Dies From COVID-19

Three years ago, Honestie Hodges of Michigan was handcuffed by Grand Rapids Police at the age of 11 back in 2017. She was handcuffed and placed at the back of a police car but would, later on, be released. That incident was a case of false arrest, sparking a call for reform. That same girl has now passed away due to COVID-19.

Now 14-years-old, Honestie was one of the unfortunate casualties claimed by the dreaded disease. According to a post on GoFundMe from her grandmother, Honestie died after spending the last two weeks at the Helen Devos Children’s Hospital in Grand Rapids.

Honestie tested positive for COVID-19 on Nov. 9. She was dealing with severe stomach pain at this time. Ironically it was her 14th birthday too.

She was hospitalized later that night and placed in intensive care. She was hooked up to a ventilator and given blood transfusion before passing away, the New York Post reported.

This is sad news for the girl who was the reason behind improved police enforcement in Grand Rapids. New policies were in place, particularly when it came to interaction with the youth.

At the time of the false arrest, authorities were looking for a 40-year-old woman tied to a stabbing, the New York Times reported. After realizing their mistake, Honestie was released. But that hardly cleared the fact that there was something wrong in the proceedings, the New York Times reported.

No police officer was disciplined for that incident with the police saying no policies were broken.

Honestie spoke out after that arrest, questioning the police if they would have done the same thing if it was a white child.

“I have a question for the Grand Rapids police: If this happened to a white child, if her mother was screaming, ‘She’s 11,’ would you have handcuffed her and put her in the back of a police car?”