Pueblo mom briefly handcuffed following misunderstanding with police

A mom was parked at a Safeway parking lot with her 2-year-old daughter when she said several Pueblo police officers surrounded her car and drew their guns.

“I was scared. I was scared that they were going to shoot. I was scared for my baby,” Arlene Gallegos said.

Sgt. Eric Gonzales said Gallegos was approached by officers at the Safeway on East Eighth Street on Monday afternoon because officers thought she was driving a car with a stolen license plate.

Gonzales said the confusion surfaced because Gallegos’ Honda Accord was stolen on April 19 and then found on April 27. But when Gallegos recovered the car, it was missing its front license plate. Gonzales said officers were looking for a vehicle that matched that license plate, which led to Gallegos getting pulled over.

Cell phone video captured by a bystander shows Gallegos being placed in handcuffs, but within a minute police realized the mistake and released her. But Gallegos said that’s not what bothers her most.

“They were screaming for my passenger to come out of the car or they were gonna shoot. I had told them that my passenger was two, but I don’t think he was listening to me,” Gallegos said.

KRDO NewsChannel 13 asked Gonzales why several officers responded to a call for a possible stolen license plate. Gonzales said the dispatcher had a hard time hearing the first responding officer over his radio, but heard him say the word “gunpoint.” At that point, dispatch sent more officers to the scene.

Gonzales called the incident an “unfortunate circumstance.” He declined to do an on-camera interview.

As for Gallegos, she said she’s just thankful she and her little girl are OK.