They were yelling. With their guns drawn on us and I started recording. So this is what me and my family got to deal with every day. Every time I crank up my truck and my little boys get in, they ask me, "Dad, please don't speed. Please put your seat belt on. We don't want you to get pulled over and killed." Watch this. Within seconds, a routine traffic stop turns into a full gunpoint takedown with kids still inside the truck. Police say they were responding to a report of stolen vehicles. But here's the problem. This family didn't match the suspects at all. According to a federal lawsuit, this started with a 911 call about stolen dirt bikes or ATVs. A South Carolina state trooper located a truck pulling a trailer and initiated a stop. Inside the vehicle, a family of five including children. The lawsuit claims the original report described multiple suspects, but the number of people in this vehicle didn't match that description. Despite that, the stop continued. Before the vehicle even fully stopped, the trooper approached with a gun already drawn. The driver and passenger were ordered to show their hands, then told to exit the vehicle. They were forced to their knees, then onto the ground and placed in handcuffs. All while their children remained inside. A federal civil rights lawsuit has been filed against the South Carolina Department of Public Safety and a South Carolina Highway Patrol trooper. Attorney Tyler Bailey filing that lawsuit. He says this all comes after a Blythewood couple was wrongfully pulled over at gunpoint. They were handcuffed he says and detained in front of their three young children during a traffic stop. It happened in Sumter County last year. Well, today the family is speaking out and News 19's Megan Docksus has much more. They were yelling. With their guns drawn on us and I started recording. That's the daughter of Cartrez Rush and Jasmine Scott. In this video you can see the moment she started recording her father walking out of the car with his arms up. The incident happened in May of 2025 when the Rush family was driving home through Sumter County from a work event. The family was towing a U-Haul trailer carrying work items. According to the lawsuit, a 911 caller reported the vehicle as possibly carrying stolen dirt bikes and a four-wheeler. Stay with me here because this is where everything changes. Because according to the lawsuit, there was still no confirmation that this was even the right vehicle. Think about that. No verification, but full felony stop tactics. Wrong number of occupants, but guns already out. No clear identification, but people already in cuffs. This is what happens when suspicion replaces verification. And it didn't stop there. The lawsuit says the family was detained for nearly an hour. At one point, the children inside the truck reportedly asked if they were going to be shot. No immediate explanation was given. And the trailer was allegedly searched without consent. They pulling a trailer and it's a white trailer about a black a Dodge dually. I like to say out of it cuz I mean they're coming up by my house and I got two kids and I don't want nobody messing with my youngins. A 911 call telling dispatch a dually truck with a U-Haul was seen driving with stolen dirt bikes on Highway 527 in Sumter County. Then this happens. OPEN THE DOOR AND GET OUT. FACE AWAY from me. Walk back. Troopers with guns drawn on Cartrez Rush and his wife Jasmine Scott on the side of the highway with their daughter Caitlyn catching it all on her phone along with dash cam from the trooper's car. They were yelling. With their guns drawn on us and I started recording. I was scared on that day because I didn't know if my parents were going to be shot and killed. Yeah. That's what the call came out as. So as I'm coming down 378, I see a black Dodge dually with a U-Haul trailer matching the identical description, okay? Obviously, there's no dirt bike I mean, cool. There's obviously nothing in there, right? But the reason why the traffic stop is going how it is is for officer safety. But the same call indicates the information was second hand and the caller couldn't even confirm a tag. Okay, what's the plate on the front of that Dodge truck? Uh there I can't get that close to it. Now the family suing for unconstitutional seizure and excessive force. And also Lyman makes this stop based solely on that information. No independent police work. You can't just go off of hunches or tips, especially in the days that we have today with swatting. People are losing their lives off of false calls and fake calls. >> After a search of the trailer, the family says that the trooper acknowledged there were no stolen items, but the family says by that point the damage was done. Damage they are still processing a year later. So this is what me and my family got to deal with every day. Every time I crank up my truck and my little boys get in, they ask me, "Dad, please don't speed. Please put your seat belt on. We don't want you to get pulled over and killed." It's a phone call from somebody who first said on dispatch that he saw the Rush family steal some dirt bikes and a four-wheeler and he was trailing them. Then the story later changes that somebody told him that they saw the Rush family steal it and also Lyman makes this stop based solely on that information. Dash cam video here shows the couple being ordered out of the vehicle at gunpoint, then told to walk backwards, get on their knees and were handcuffed all while their three children watched. Cartrez Rush says he went to grab his license and registration at first. He explains the moment. Imagine that was you and your family and they tell you to get out the vehicle with your hands in the air. Leave your kids in the truck crying. And you got to back up to the sound of the voice not knowing that every step you take could be your last step and they could shoot and kill you. Other agencies including SLED, Sumter County and Clarendon County deputies also responded to the scene. After searching the U-Haul, officers found no stolen items. Basically, everybody was just as shocked. I mean, on the ride home it was quiet for a period of time cuz we were still trying to process it. The lawsuit claims the incident caused trauma and should have not happened. Bailey says they also plan to investigate who made the initial 911 call and whether it could be a case of swatting. Public Safety should have figured out and done their own investigation on this, but we we intend to hold them accountable as well. You can't make false tips or fake tips and think there'll be no repercussions. News 19 reached out to the Department of Public Safety for comment. They told us quote, "The South Carolina Department of Public Safety has not received official notice of this lawsuit. However, we do not comment on pending litigation." End quote. Now this isn't just a viral moment. This is a federal civil rights lawsuit alleging false imprisonment, excessive force, and violations of constitutional rights. And the entire case centers on one question. What level of verification is required before force like this is used? Because once guns are drawn, there's no undo button. And when that happens to the wrong people, especially with kids watching, the damage doesn't end when the stop does. It follows them every time they see flashing lights again. Thin blue lies, baby. Hey, if you're still here, that tells me two things. One, you actually care about accountability. And two, YouTube hasn't scared you off yet. So here's the deal. If this video brought you value, do the YouTube things. Like it, share it, subscribe. 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