WINTER HAVEN, Fla. — The Winter Haven Police Department detailed the moments leading up to a viral video of officers detaining a woman as she lies on the ground beside her 3-year-old daughter.

Police Chief Vance Monroe said the incident happened Tuesday at around 1:15 p.m. outside the American Legion Post in Winter Haven.

The mother, 27-year-old Mariah Banks, said the series of events is still traumatic for her to see. She and her daughter, Symphony, got on the ground following direct orders from officers.

“Down on the ground! Get down!” officers commanded, according to newly released body camera footage.

“Everybody seen clear as day they had their guns pointed directly at me and her,” Banks said. “That made her fearful for her life that she had no other choice but to get on that ground and lay down and put her hands on her back.”

Banks said she was in disbelief when she saw officers draw their guns. She had originally thought the police arrived at the American Legion for her boyfriend, 29-year-old Godfrey Hercules.

Hercules was involved in an altercation with an employee at a nearby store called Santiago’s just moments earlier. Banks said Hercules decided to separate from her and their daughter to keep them out of harm’s way as officers approached the building.

She said she never imagined her child would end up being impacted.

“Y’all could have moved her from out of proximity and had y’all guns pointed at me,” Banks said. “Anything but my baby. She’s a child. Three years old. She doesn’t deserve something like this.”

During a press conference, Police Chief Vance Monroe stood alongside local leaders and area pastors as he acknowledged the bad optics of the incident.

“I truly wish that this child wasn’t exposed to this,” he said. “I’m a father, I’m a grandfather, just like the officers that responded. In hindsight, I wish there was something we could change how this young lady engaged with us or how we engaged with her.”

Monroe added that the four officers acted within the department’s policies.

He said they responded to a disturbance involving a firearm, which led to a be-on-the-lookout (BOLO) for Hercules’ red Nissan Altima. After officers located the vehicle, body cam video shows them apprehending Hercules on the side of the building and taking him into custody. Monroe said officers then ordered Banks to get on the ground once she approached the scene with a cellphone.

“You have to remember, we have a BOLO out for an armed disturbance, a person with a firearm. We don’t know who has the firearm,” he said. “We don’t know who has it and we don’t know where the firearm is. We just have to secure the people that’s there.”

Monroe stressed the officers’ orders were only for Banks, but her daughter mimicked her actions.

“At no point did an officer aim a weapon at the child,” Monroe said. “Body cam footage confirms that once officers realized a child was present, the firearm was immediately lowered.”

In a still image from the video, Mariah Banks and her 3-year-old daughter can be seen on the ground with police officers present. (Courtesy Deshoun Hamilton)

He said officers also worked to comfort the 3-year-old, but the chief said his officers were unable to initially remove the child from the scene because there were not enough personnel present.

Moving forward, Monroe said the department will train officers on how to better respond to situations involving a child.

However, Banks said this incident will leave a lasting impact.

“They’re supposed to serve and protect,” she said. “My baby never felt that. She didn’t feel protected, she didn’t feel served. She felt hurt.”

Banks said she’s currently seeking professional help to help her daughter process what happened.

Monroe said officers eventually found a Diamondback 9mm semiautomatic pistol in the couple’s vehicle.

Both Banks and Hercules were released at the scene after the store employee declined to press charges.

However, the State Attorney’s Office filed complaint affidavits against Hercules for affray and improper display of a weapon.