Honestie Hodges, 14, who sparked national outcry when she was handcuffed and held at gunpoint by Grand Rapids police aged 11, dies from COVID with 'no underlying health conditions'

A Michigan girl who sparked national outcry when she was handcuffed and held by police at gunpoint two years ago when she was just 11 years old has died from COVID-19, her family says.

Honestie Hodges died on Sunday at the Helen DeVos Children's Hospital in Grand Rapids after testing positive for coronavirus two weeks ago on her 14th birthday.

Her grandmother, Alisa Niemeyer, says the teenager had been in intensive care prior to her death and that she had no underlying health conditions. 

News of her death was shared on a GoFundMe page created to help support Honestie's mother and the teen's four siblings while she was in hospital.  

Honestie first fell ill on her 14th birthday on November 9 and she was taken to hospital suffering stomach pains. 

She tested positive for coronavirus that day and was sent home to quarantine.  

Honestie Hodges, who is from Grand Rapids, died aged 14 on Sunday at the Helen DeVos Children's Hospital in Grand Rapids, Michigan. She had been on a ventilator for two weeks after testing positive for COVID-19 on her 14th birthday

Honestie first fell ill on her 14th birthday on November 9 and she was taken to hospital suffering stomach pains. She tested positive for coronavirus that day and was sent home to quarantine 

Honestie was rushed back to hospital via ambulance that same night when her condition worsened and she was placed in the ICU.  

She received iron and blood transfusions as her condition continued to deteriorate, her grandmother said.

The teen was placed on a ventilator on November 14. 

Her grandmother posted an update on Sunday, saying: 'It is with an extremely heavy heart that I have to tell all of you that my beautiful, sassy, smart loving granddaughter has gone home to be with Jesus.'   

Niemeyer told local outlet WOOD-TV that Honestie was 'healthy' and 'happy' with no underlying health conditions prior to being hospitalized. 

She said they weren't too concerned when Honestie tested positive for COVID-19.  

'I don't think we were too terribly concerned at that point,' Niemeyer said. 

'I mean, we know a lot of people who have had COVID quarantined and they were just fine at the end of the day. So initially we weren't too concerned. 

'There was no way we thought this was ever going to happen. You know (we thought), 'She is going to get better; she is going to come home and we are going to have a birthday party.'       

Honestie (pictured above) made national news back in December 2017 when Grand Rapids police handcuffed her and put her in the back of their patrol car. Officers had been searching for a 40-year-old woman in connection with a stabbing

Cases, hospitalizations and deaths due to COVID-19 are currently rising in Michigan. The state has recorded more than 347,000 cases and 9,000 deaths. 

Children dying from coronavirus is rare compared to older populations, according to the CDC. Black and Hispanic children, however, are more likely than white children to be admitted to ICU or hospitalized as a result of COVID-19.  

Honestie made national news back in December 2017 when Grand Rapids police handcuffed her and put her in the back of their patrol car.

She had walked out of her home to go to the store with her mother and another family member when they were confronted by police with their guns drawn.

Honestie's mother Whitney could be heard screaming: 'She is 11 years old, sir!'

The officer, however, ordered Honestie to walk backwards towards him while keeping her hands up.  A second officer then grabbed her by the arms, handcuffed her and placed her in the patrol car.

She kept pleading: 'No, no, no' while she was detained. Bodycam footage shows Honestie screaming and crying throughout the terrifying ordeal.

Police kept her handcuffed for several minutes before releasing her.  as they kept on the handcuffs for several minutes before releasing her.

Officers had been searching for a 40-year-old woman in connection with a stabbing.  

Cases, hospitalizations and deaths have been increasing in Michigan since mid-October

The state has recorded more than 347,000 cases throughout the pandemic

More than 9,000 coronavirus deaths have been recorded across the state

A vigil was held outside her home following the news of her death. News of her death was shared on a GoFundMe page created to help support Honestie's mother and the teen's four siblings while she was in hospital

Honestie had remained outspoken about police and race issues and this summer her family were in negotiations with the city to settle a claim over her treatment 

The subsequent uproar to the child's treatment forced changes within the Grand Rapids Police Department on how they treat minors.

The incident resulted in the 'Honestie Policy' being introduced that encouraged police to use the least restrictive methods to deal with youngsters.

The officers who reprimanded Honestie were not disciplined because they did not violate any regulations at the time.

After the incident, Honestie told MLive: 'I have a question for the Grand Rapids police: If this happened to a white child, if her mother was screaming, 'She's 11,' would you have handcuffed her and put her in the back of a police car?'

Honestie had remained outspoken about police and race issues and this summer her family were in negotiations with the city to settle a claim over her treatment. 

Following her death, her grandmother said: 'She could have been the vice president one day or maybe the president.

'The world was open to her.'