“American Idol” star Syesha Mercado is fighting the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office after they seized her 10-day-old baby daughter in a harrowing moment caught in a now-viral video. This is the second child that authorities have taken under unclear circumstances from the 34-year-old Sarasota, Florida native, who finished third during the seventh season of the long-running TV singing competition.
On Wednesday morning, deputies reportedly surrounded a car that Mercado, her newborn baby and her partner, Tyron Deener, were driving in, according to the Herald Tribune. Police then took custody of the infant to bring her to a hospital for a physical.
Deener, 36, posted footage of the incident that occurred near Whitfield Drive and Lockwood Ridge Road on Instagram Live. The hour-long video, which had more than 1.6 million views as of Friday night, shows multiple police vehicles flashing their lights while two deputies serve the couple with a court order to turn over their baby.
Mercado — who starred in Broadway’s “The Book of Mormon” in 2014 — and Deener explain to the sheriffs that their daughter had already been seen by physicians just a day prior. The pair also state they were on their way with the newborn to the sheriff’s office, but they were told no one was available to see them.
“She’s not even a month old,” a crying Mercado can be heard saying in the emotional clip before starting to sob. “You are traumatizing my baby. How could you guys do this? Do you not feel anything? You’re taking my baby away from me. You have no heart. This is so wrong. I have the key to this city. I’ll hold it together. I’m strong.”
The singer-actress was indeed gifted a key to the city of Sarasota during her “American Idol” hometown tour on May 9, 2008, which was proclaimed “Syesha Mercado Day.” She went on to finish behind David Archuleta and that season’s winner, David Cook, on the show. She later headlined the 2010 national tour of “Dreamgirls” opposite 2021 Tony nominee Adrienne Warren, who went on to star as Tina Turner in “Tina” on Broadway.
Her infant is still in protective custody, according to self-declared social justice activist Donisha Prendergast, who is advocating for the couple, local outlets reported.
Meanwhile, Mercado and Deener’s 15-month-old son, Amen’Ra, was placed into foster care more than three months ago after Mercado’s breast milk supply started to run dry, and the boy would not accept other fluids, FOX Tampa Bay reported. The couple has been working hard to get him back after he was taken over allegations of malnutrition, according to Mercado’s social media posts.
They took Amen’Ra to Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital in St. Petersburg on Feb. 26. Almost two weeks later, the St. Petersburg police removed Mercado and Deener from the hospital for trespassing. Their son was discharged in late March and was transferred to foster care.
The pair launched a GoFundMe, entitled “The Legalized Kidnapping of Black Babies Through CPS.” About $250,000 has been raised, surpassing their posted $200,000 goal to cover legal bills.
“I am a pregnant, breastfeeding, mama who went to the hospital with the intention to get my [son], Amen’Ra, some fluids while transitioning from extended breastfeeding to being bottle-fed,” Mercado’s crowd-sourcing campaign pitch reads. “On March 11 … Amen’Ra was forcefully and legally kidnapped from us by CPS, who claim we refused a B12 shot that was a matter of life and death, which is an absolute lie.”
Reps for the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office did not immediately respond to The Post’s request for comment. The last listed talent manger for Mercado could not be reached.
However, local cops did tell the Herald Tribune that medical staff reported Mercado and Deener for turning down a B-12 intramuscular shot, as recommended by hospital docs, a claim that Mercado still denies.
“We never refused a B12 shot, and at no point was he on the verge of death,” she said in her social media statement before her second child was taken into custody. “Our Sun has since been placed with a white foster family without interviewing qualified relatives or friends of our family for placement while they investigate. We are given limited information and presently only have weekly zoom visitation for an hour with our sun, with no court order stating these visitation limitations.”