Syesha Mercado, former American Idol finalist, and partner Tyron Deneer have lost custody of their newborn daughter five months after authorities removed their son from their care.
Deneer broadcast an Instagram Live video of the encounter with Manatee County, Florida, sheriff’s deputies on August 11, as they insist that the couple surrender the newborn baby.
Mercado and Deneer, were traveling with their newborn daughter, when authorities pulled them over.
The police insisted on doing a surprise roadside welfare check. In the video of the interaction with the Manatee County sheriff’s deputies, the couple is served a court order to surrender their days-old baby for a hospital checkup.
The parents claimed they had paperwork proving they had just taken their daughter to the doctor for a checkup the previous day.
“My baby is days old, and you’re taking my baby away from me,” Mercado can be heard saying in the video she posted. “You have no heart. This is so wrong.”
The couple was not given a warning of the safety check. They also say their lawyer was not contacted about any issues or concerns over the care of their newborn.
“All you had to do was call the attorney. We have all the paperwork,” Mercado said. “You guys have created so much trauma. You just expect me to come outside and be like, hi, guys; you’re my friends. You’re not my friends.”
In the video, the baby can be heard crying, and Mercado, who is still breastfeeding her 10-day-old baby, had to pump a bottle of breast milk before the encounter ended.
The hour-long video has been viewed nearly 2 million times and has sparked a public outcry.
Public support for Mercado and Deneer, who are both Black, points to racism as playing a significant factor in removing their newborn daughter.
Dana Sussman, the deputy executive director at National Advocates for Pregnant Women, said, “Child Protective Services is referred to as a “family policing system” by many due to its control over Black families, which can be exerted anywhere. This system is rooted in our country’s history of slavery and regulating the reproduction of Black mothers and Black families,” Sussman said. “It is rooted in the country’s belief they can judge who and when people can become parents … and it’s inextricably linked with the racist systems of policing, violence, and poverty.”
And in Mercado and Deneer’s case, their newborn was removed during a surprise traffic stop.
This isn’t the first time the parents have had to navigate a system that seems entirely against them. The parents are still fighting to regain custody of their son Amen’Ra from CPS in Manatee County in Florida.
In February, their son was removed from their care after taking him to Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital in St. Petersburg, Florida, seeking support because they were worried that he was dehydrated after transitioning from breast milk to solid food.
Officials accused the couple of not caring for Amen’Ra, claiming he was malnourished, and he was immediately placed into foster care.
A USA Today Network investigation of the case reported the parents were assessed by Dr. Sally Smith, a physician who was “accused by critics of being too quick to conclude caregivers are abusing children,” the news outletreported.
“The investigation reviewed hundreds of Smith’s cases and found more than a dozen instances in which charges were dropped or parents were acquitted, but their reputations forever tarnished.”
Mercado and Deneer’s newborn is still in protective custody, and their son is still placed in foster care. The parents continue to fight to get them back.
“My baby is healthy and happy,” Mercado said in the Instagram Live video just before handing over her baby. “All you had to do was call the attorney. We have all the paperwork.”
As of Saturday morning, the family has raised more than $300,000, topping the $200,000 goal on a GoFundMe page started to help cover legal fees to get their children back.
