You make the call!: Mom vs. Cops

[BrianD]

Originally Posted by Axxon

You've clearly never worked security. Oh, and inclement weather helps dampen sounds and restricts visibility which help the crooks pull heists like this.

I haven't, but come on...people are going to break into a locked car at the curb in front of the store, under the lights, with the hazard lights on and a child in a car seat? That sounds like about the worst option for a car to steal. There is a whole parking lot full of truly unattended cars that aren't in the general sight-line of everyone walking to and from the store.

[Shepp]

It appears to me that there is more to this story than is reported in this article. I'm sure that the mothers story has been carefully crafted to put the most favorable spin on her actions and the least favorable on the officer. I'm also sure her story has been reviewed by a lawyer, or two, to make sure that nothing is said that may be interpreted as guilt.

You will also never see an interview of this officer. Its almost a universal rule that officers are not allowed to give interviews about incidents they are involved. Part of this is to protect the integrity of an investigation and the other part is that the administration is afraid that an officer will say something they don't like. I think the chief of that department did a decent job of sticking up for his officer. However, the bottom line is that the chief wasn't there and will never be able to say what was happening from the officer's perspective.

From my experience, I have written several tickets to people who have left their children unattended in cars. It would typically start when I oberved the child alone. I would then look around and see if I would idedntify the guardian. If I couldn't find anyone who was a guardian. I would wait around until the guardian showed up. If it took more than a minute or two for the guardian to arrive, they got a ticket. My thinkning was that if they didn't notice a police officer stading at their vehicle where their child was and not come out right away to find out what was wrong. They most have not been paying that close of attention.

Having said all of that. My impression is that mom probably would have just gotten a ticket for leaving the child in the car. She probably got arrested for the obstruction, when she refused to cooperate with the officer by giving basic information like names and such.