(KAIR)--Allegations of race-based profiling are being made by a Holton couple, who say they were loading groceries into their vehicle when authorities arrived, accusing them of stealing from the Holton Walmart. However, Jackson County Sheriff Tim Morse says there was no racial motivation behind the response.

The Kansas City Star reports 26-year-old Bracey Myles and his 20-year-old fiance, Alfreda Lange, were questioned for 20 minutes, while their infant son was left inside the hot vehicle. Allegedly, authorities told them they could not turn on the car, to run the air conditioning, and that’s when Myles began recording the incident, posting the video, which has gone viral, to Twitter. The couple claims the child suffered heat rash.

Morse, in a statement, said he wants to clarify a few of the comments “that were completely untrue.” Saying that he reviewed the full video, the encounter lasted 7 minutes and 19 seconds, not 20-minutes, and occurred after the deputies were called by Walmart for a reported theft.

Morse said Lange told one of the deputies no when he asked if she wanted to start the vehicle, despite the claim to the contrary. He said Lange was cooperative, helping to resolve the situation, while Myles stood with his hands in the air until he began filming.

Saying the deputies “simply responded to a call for service,” Morse, in the statement, said “in no way” were the individuals racially profiled, as “that type of behavior is not tolerated” in his office.

The couple, who have lived in Holton for about a month, says they were the only black people inside the store, and believe they were racially profiled.

A GoFundMe account has been established to help them move.
 

Editor's note: below is the full statement issued Friday, June 19, by Jackson Co Sheriff Tim Morse:

WARNING: Strong language:

Somebody help me out I was racially profiled and publicly humiliated pic.twitter.com/fYtwtGOcH9

— TheLakeWolf (@TheLakeWolf) June 17, 2020