A single mother of three in Louisiana, Cavinitri White, was arrested in June after calling police about a domestic dispute over a PlayStation. Officers reportedly found her apartment heavily infested with cockroaches, leading to child neglect charges. White spent six days in jail, and her children were temporarily removed from her care.
White and her legal team presented evidence showing repeated requests to building management for pest control, dating back to January, that went largely unaddressed. Screenshots of maintenance requests reportedly show her pleas for help: “Hello apartment needs some type of pest control, roaches are coming through cracks in the ceiling and vents; self pest control is not working.”
The Shreveport Police Department said officers found three children, ages 4, 3, and 1, living with White, and observed cockroaches on nearly every surface—including furniture, kitchen cabinets, the refrigerator, and through holes in the walls. Probable cause for the arrest was also reportedly based on seeing children in dirty clothes and soiled diapers.
Charges were later dropped by the Caddo Parish District Attorney’s Office, which cited proof that White had submitted multiple service requests and that no drugs, firearms, or injuries were present.
White described the ordeal as deeply unfair: “I should not have been wrongfully jailed, I should not have been lied on … and I should not have been put in the media as if I am a bad mother when I do the most that I can for my children. I didn’t deserve that.”
Local lawmakers and civil rights advocates have criticized the City of Shreveport and the SPD officer involved, highlighting body camera footage showing White pleading with the officer about her ongoing pest problem, which was allegedly ignored.
White’s lead attorney, Malik Shabazz, announced that legal action is being pursued against the City of Shreveport, the Shreveport Police Department, and the officer involved, calling the arrest “deeply offensive to civil rights and human rights.”
The advocacy group Humanity 2020 also condemned the handling of the case, stating that “The unsafe and hazardous conditions that plagued the apartment complex … were due to no fault of her own, and this case demands urgent scrutiny of law enforcement misconduct.”
White’s legal team has said they may halt legal proceedings if city officials and police acknowledge the incident and take responsibility, but no such action has been taken to date.
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