Police Dumped Ta'Naja Barnes Remains; Thought it Was Meth

Summary- Dar’tavius Barnes claims Springfield police desecrated and spilled the cremains of Ta’Naja Barnes during a traffic stop. The cops believed the urn contained cocaine or methamphetamine. Ta’Naja was killed by her mother and her boyfriend in 2019.

Springfield, Illinois, resident Dar’tavius Barnes has filed a lawsuit against the City of Springfield, claiming his vehicle was unlawfully searched during an April 2020 traffic stop in the city. Barnes was pulled over for speeding moments after reports of “shots fired” in the neighborhood.

In the lawsuit, Barnes claims officers placed him in handcuffs and sat him in the back of their patrol car while they searched his vehicle without consent, probable cause, or a valid warrant to conduct the search.

Barnes claims officers took a sealed urn of his deceased daughter’s ashes, unsealed it, opened it without consent, and then spilled out the ashes. The police say they performed this as a routine vehicle search.

The Death of Ta’Naja Barnes

Barnes’ daughter, 2-year-old Ta’Naja Barnes was found unresponsive in her Decatur, IL home in 2019. She was pronounced dead at a Decatur hospital. Ta’Naja’s mother and her boyfriend were later arrested in the toddler’s death.

The toddler died after months of neglect and abuse from the pair. CPS was involved with the family, yet the child still died.

T’wanka Davis, the child’s mother, is serving a 20-year sentence for the murder. Davis’ boyfriend, Anthony Myers, was sentenced to 30-years in prison. Myers has filed an appeal in his sentence.

Barnes filed the lawsuit against The City of Springfield in October 2020.

Body Cam Footage

Watch the video of the traffic stop here

News station WCHST obtained body camera footage of the incident, showing the officers holding the bullet-shaped urn. In the footage, Barnes is heard saying, “Please give me my daughter, put her in my hand.” The officers then handcuff and detail Barnes in the back of their vehicle.

Barnes told an officer that he had marijuana in his car. He can then be heard in the video giving the officer permission to search his vehicle. The cops found marijuana and what they thought was ecstasy or meth. The officers then tested the substance for cocaine with a narcotics test kit. The officers can be heard in the video saying he thought it was “Molly,” while another says “X pills.” The container was Ta’Naja’s urn holding her remains.

An officer told Barnes that the container tested positive for meth of ecstasy. Barnes looks confused and asks to see what they found. The officer showed Barned the urn. He immediately reacted, saying, “No, that’s my daughter,” as he attempted to grab the urn.

"This is his daughter's ashes that Reibeling thought tested positive for meth," the officer said.

Police gave the urn to Barnes' father, who was waiting up the street.

He was released after 21-minutes, given a notice to appear in court for the marijuana. At the end of the video, the other officers can be heard poking fun at the officer who thought cremains were narcotics.

I’m Rambling About The Case

I’ve seen cocaine a few times in my life and have seen human ashes, as my grandmother was cremated. Look nothing the same.

Admittedly, someone told me what “meth” was because I’ve only seen it once in my life and thought it was crack cocaine. I described it as “shards of glass” and was informed that it was meth… So, my untrained self can differentiate between meth that I’ve seen one time in my life and ashes, yet the boys in blue can’t? Uh-mazing.

Always assume and stereotype people and make asses of themselves, like in this instance.

Good luck with your lawsuit, Mr. Barnes. I am so sorry for the loss of your daughter and the bullshit from the police, all over a little bit of weed.

More Information

https://herald-review.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/father-speaks-out-after-decatur-mother-pleads-not-guilty-to-murder-in-death-of-2/article_299417a4-c3b2-5915-8dfc-b2fa53e470ba.html

https://newschannel20.com/news/local/anthony-myers-sentenced-to-30-years-behind-bars