Official Statement from the Anderson Family
OUR OFFICIAL STATEMENT REGARDING
THE SETTLEMENT FROM THE MERIDIAN POLICE DEPARTMENT
After more than four years of legal turmoil and relentless attacks against our family, we are grateful to announce that we have reached a landmark milestone in our ongoing battle against the authorities who wrongfully kidnapped our son, Baby Cyrus.
Rather than defend their actions before a jury that could see firsthand what was done to our family, the Meridian Police Department chose to offer a financial settlement. We believe it is obvious that they recognized their conduct was unethical, unconscionable, contrary to Idaho statutes, and simply evil.
To be clear, a financial settlement was never of any interest to our family. We simply wanted justice to prevail. We wanted to do everything within our power to prevent this kind of evil from ever happening to another family in Idaho. We also wanted the public to understand that this type of wicked conduct exists within modern government institutions—including police agencies—and specifically within the Meridian Police Department, whose reputation for abuse has become nearly legendary.
For that reason, our family chose to accept the settlement. While the agreement does not include a formal admission of liability, everyone understands what it means when a government agency chooses to pay a substantial settlement rather than submit its conduct to the scrutiny of a public jury trial. In that sense, the settlement speaks volumes. It brings renewed attention to the heinous actions of Detective Jeff Fuller (Badge #3138) and Detective Steven Hansen (Badge #3534), who were directly responsible for Cyrus’s kidnapping; Sergeant Christopher McGilvery, whose record of violence and misconduct—including toward fellow officers—is well documented; Officer Sean King; and the other officers who participated in Baby Cyrus’s removal. Ultimately, however, responsibility rests with Police Chief Tracey Basterrechea, who leads the Department and represents the essence of the Meridian Police Agency and how and why the evil actions of his police department have become so infamous.
Make no mistake: this settlement is being paid by the taxpayers of Meridian and Idaho. It is the public—not the officials responsible—who will bear the financial burden. We accepted this settlement because we believe it can become a catalyst for meaningful change. If you do not want innocent children taken from their families, if you do not want taxpayer money spent on settlements arising from government misconduct, and if you do not want to live with the fear that armed government agents (“thugs with badges”) can use force to take your children and destroy your family, then the Meridian Police Department must change. New policies must be established. New leadership must be chosen. This cannot be allowed to continue.
We are also pleased to announce that 100% of the settlement funds have been donated by our family to charitable causes that we believe in. Those funds will be directed primarily toward efforts that combat what we believe to be a government-subsidized child trafficking system in which the Meridian Police Department has been a willing participant. To be absolutely clear, our family is not keeping a single dime of this settlement. Every dollar has been donated to charity.
Most importantly, we are honored that these funds will be used to launch the BABY CYRUS FOUNDATION, an organization whose mission is to eliminate the scourge of government-subsidized child trafficking in America and to expose corruption within CPS, the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare (and similar agencies in other states), police departments, hospitals, medical professionals, and others who participate in what we believe is the wrongful removal of children from their families.
The Foundation will pursue that mission by creating educational resources, research, films, graphics, publications, legal materials, and other tools designed to expose corruption, inform the public, and serve as a watchdog organization that publicly confronts these abuses wherever they occur. Ultimately, our goal is to influence public policy and legislation that will help bring this dark chapter in our nation’s history to an end.
We believe it is both poetic justice and the providence of God that our family’s tragedy has been transformed into something that will not only expose these issues, but also help fund the very organization dedicated to ending them. Think about it—the actions that were taken against Baby Cyrus ultimately resulted in a settlement that is now being used to establish the Baby Cyrus Foundation—an organization devoted to combating the very corruption that we believe the Meridian Police Department came to represent. Only God could orchestrate something like that, and we are humbled and deeply grateful to have a small part in His greater plan.
Ultimately, this settlement, and the creation of the Baby Cyrus Foundation that follows from it, represents a tremendous vindication of our family’s innocence. It is also a victory for everyone who courageously stood beside us in the fight for justice, for the safe return of Baby Cyrus, for parental rights, and for ending what we believe to be government-subsidized child trafficking carried out through CPS and similar agencies.
Finally, we want to express our deepest gratitude to every person who prayed for us, encouraged us, supported us, stood beside us, and refused to remain silent. By God’s grace, you helped make history. When you had the opportunity to stand against tyranny, you did. You stood for justice, you stood for truth, and you stood for an innocent child. For that, our family will be forever grateful.
Sincerely,
Levi and Marissa Anderson
(Baby Cyrus’s parents)
THE SETTLEMENT FROM THE MERIDIAN POLICE DEPARTMENT
After more than four years of legal turmoil and relentless attacks against our family, we are grateful to announce that we have reached a landmark milestone in our ongoing battle against the authorities who wrongfully kidnapped our son, Baby Cyrus.
Rather than defend their actions before a jury that could see firsthand what was done to our family, the Meridian Police Department chose to offer a financial settlement. We believe it is obvious that they recognized their conduct was unethical, unconscionable, contrary to Idaho statutes, and simply evil.
To be clear, a financial settlement was never of any interest to our family. We simply wanted justice to prevail. We wanted to do everything within our power to prevent this kind of evil from ever happening to another family in Idaho. We also wanted the public to understand that this type of wicked conduct exists within modern government institutions—including police agencies—and specifically within the Meridian Police Department, whose reputation for abuse has become nearly legendary.
For that reason, our family chose to accept the settlement. While the agreement does not include a formal admission of liability, everyone understands what it means when a government agency chooses to pay a substantial settlement rather than submit its conduct to the scrutiny of a public jury trial. In that sense, the settlement speaks volumes. It brings renewed attention to the heinous actions of Detective Jeff Fuller (Badge #3138) and Detective Steven Hansen (Badge #3534), who were directly responsible for Cyrus’s kidnapping; Sergeant Christopher McGilvery, whose record of violence and misconduct—including toward fellow officers—is well documented; Officer Sean King; and the other officers who participated in Baby Cyrus’s removal. Ultimately, however, responsibility rests with Police Chief Tracey Basterrechea, who leads the Department and represents the essence of the Meridian Police Agency and how and why the evil actions of his police department have become so infamous.
Make no mistake: this settlement is being paid by the taxpayers of Meridian and Idaho. It is the public—not the officials responsible—who will bear the financial burden. We accepted this settlement because we believe it can become a catalyst for meaningful change. If you do not want innocent children taken from their families, if you do not want taxpayer money spent on settlements arising from government misconduct, and if you do not want to live with the fear that armed government agents (“thugs with badges”) can use force to take your children and destroy your family, then the Meridian Police Department must change. New policies must be established. New leadership must be chosen. This cannot be allowed to continue.
We are also pleased to announce that 100% of the settlement funds have been donated by our family to charitable causes that we believe in. Those funds will be directed primarily toward efforts that combat what we believe to be a government-subsidized child trafficking system in which the Meridian Police Department has been a willing participant. To be absolutely clear, our family is not keeping a single dime of this settlement. Every dollar has been donated to charity.
Most importantly, we are honored that these funds will be used to launch the BABY CYRUS FOUNDATION, an organization whose mission is to eliminate the scourge of government-subsidized child trafficking in America and to expose corruption within CPS, the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare (and similar agencies in other states), police departments, hospitals, medical professionals, and others who participate in what we believe is the wrongful removal of children from their families.
The Foundation will pursue that mission by creating educational resources, research, films, graphics, publications, legal materials, and other tools designed to expose corruption, inform the public, and serve as a watchdog organization that publicly confronts these abuses wherever they occur. Ultimately, our goal is to influence public policy and legislation that will help bring this dark chapter in our nation’s history to an end.
We believe it is both poetic justice and the providence of God that our family’s tragedy has been transformed into something that will not only expose these issues, but also help fund the very organization dedicated to ending them. Think about it—the actions that were taken against Baby Cyrus ultimately resulted in a settlement that is now being used to establish the Baby Cyrus Foundation—an organization devoted to combating the very corruption that we believe the Meridian Police Department came to represent. Only God could orchestrate something like that, and we are humbled and deeply grateful to have a small part in His greater plan.
Ultimately, this settlement, and the creation of the Baby Cyrus Foundation that follows from it, represents a tremendous vindication of our family’s innocence. It is also a victory for everyone who courageously stood beside us in the fight for justice, for the safe return of Baby Cyrus, for parental rights, and for ending what we believe to be government-subsidized child trafficking carried out through CPS and similar agencies.
Finally, we want to express our deepest gratitude to every person who prayed for us, encouraged us, supported us, stood beside us, and refused to remain silent. By God’s grace, you helped make history. When you had the opportunity to stand against tyranny, you did. You stood for justice, you stood for truth, and you stood for an innocent child. For that, our family will be forever grateful.
Sincerely,
Levi and Marissa Anderson
(Baby Cyrus’s parents)
