Police officer with an issue? Or parents with an issue?

Question

I was in a parking lot and there was a young couple with
6 kids in a neon. A baby was in a car seat and the other kids were not (ages 2-9). The car was parked in the lot when the officer pulled up. The officer got out and started yelling at the parents that they got there somehow and the kids lives were in danger. He took both parents to the rear of the car and yelled at them for nearly 45 minutes telling them CPS should take the kids away, they were lousy parents, etc (while the kids were in the car crying and unattended). I was watching these poor kids crying and terrified and at one point the baby was crying so hard she looked like she was choking and the officer had the parents with thier backs to the kids yelling at them. Was this inappropriate?

What about if the baby had actually choked while the officer had the parents distracted? Who would be responsible for that negligent homicide due to neglect?

CJ - The officer didn't actually pull them over. He saw them in the parking lot and was saying they had to get there somehow and that was illegal. He ticketed them I know for sure. I just felt sorry for the kids. What kind of impression did these kids get of a police officer. They were really scared and upset. I agree it was wrong of the parents.

People would have to see these upset and crying kids faces to fully empathize with the situation. The poor kids got the raw deal all the way around.

Answer 1

The officers actions were inappropriate, and I believe that he should be responsible. However, I being a parent, and if it would have been me in that situation, I would have tended to my child no matter what the officer said. NOBODY would stop me from taking care of my child.

Answer 2

If you are so upset by it perhaps you should have taken a note of his name ,or car licence number and the date and time and write a letter to the,police commisioner.Keep a copy and see what happens from there.Unfortunately i don't think they will do much, but at least they will know someone was watching and that the behaviour was over the top and unproffessional . Thankyou for being concerned and taking notice. I believe we should never turn a blind eye to anything that potentially could put a childs life in danger,whether an authority figure is involved or not. As for if the baby had choked and who would be responsible maybe you should ask the commissioner when you write. Goodluck.

Answer 3

I'd say both. The officer was clearly out of line. The children were legally required to be in child seats while the car was moving, and the fact that the kids were there and the child seats weren't is a pretty good indication that they weren't going to be. However, I'm pretty sure that there's no police protocol that involves yelling at a suspect. If he thought the kids were being abused or neglected, he could file a police report, contact CPS, or even arrest the parents as circumstances dictated. But yelling at the parents for an extended period while their children are present isn't really an appropriate course of action under any circumstances, and is something that could legitimately be reported to his superior officers. Harassing civilians generally isn't considered acceptable behavior for a police officer.

However, the children did need to be in car seats. The exact requirements vary, but I believe the current law where I live is that kids under 4'9" need to be in a child seat or booster seat in the car. I've also heard under 60 lbs as a limit, but height is really more of a factor than weight anyway since the biggest issue is where the safety belt falls. Most likely, all five children are still under that limit, and certainly the youngest few were. Not having them in a child seat while the car is moving (and unless five child seats were going to materialize out of thin air, I'm pretty sure that was the intent) is illegal, and it endangers the lives of the children. Adult safety belts simply aren't effective at restraining small children in a collision, and child seats can dramatically improve the outcome of an accident.

Were the baby to die while the parents were talking to the officer, I believe the legal responsibility would fall to the parents. Had the officer taken the parents in to custody and left the children unattended that would be a different matter. But since the parents were not under arrest, they were, legally, free to go at any time to attend to their children or even to simply drive away (of course, if they tried to drive off the officer could then issue citations for the improperly restrained children). Clearly the officer intimidated them into staying to listen to him simply by virtue of his being an officer, but legally they could have left at any time.

Answer 4

A young couple with 6 kids from 2-9 years. It would seem to me that they were running a day care or something. If that is the case then they should be hauled up. They are being careless with other peoples kids. Even if they are there own, the kids need to be properly restrained in the car. "hug them at home, belt them in the car".

But a cop yelling for 45 mins seems far fetched to me. And i have no love for cops. But common sense tells me no cop has the patients to yell for 45 mins. Either they book you or they cower you and go on their merry way feeling happy they put someone down.

Answer 5

Well I think the officer was bit out of line about yelling at them for 45 minutes.....but then again....Have you ever pulled an infant or child out of a dash, or scraped a child of the road because he/she was ejected during a wreck? Remember that's six children AND two adults in a neon for gods sake!! Eight people in a neon, OMG. No wonder the cop was ticked! A suburban is rated for maybe eight or nine not a little neon!!!!

Answer 6

About 12 yrs ago, a cop stopped me 20 miles from home with a 3 yr old and a 5 yr old and told me my plate was expired and refused to let me drive off. He left me out in the country at a gas station with 2 little kids and no transportation home. I did not realize my plate (sticker) had expired for over 2 months. You can chalk that up to single parenting 2 little kids, going to college full time, working and taking care of my mother who died.
He was a young officer and I think mentally retarded.
I made 2 phone calls to try to get a ride home and no one returned my call, so I looked around and after about 1 hour, drove off in my car to home thru the country with 2 little kids. I had no choice.
To make a long story short, some cops are good, Many are just simply stupid and immature.

Answer 7

There is a right and a wrong way to deal with a situation like this, this officer chose the wrong way.
He shouldn't have put down the parents and yelled at them in front of the children like that, he has demonstrated one of the reasons why children have lost respect for the police.

I can understand his frustration, maybe he has picked up more than his fair share of children who have been killed or injured in car accidents because they weren't in child seats.

Answer 8

Dear Wondering,

I was a Deputy Sheriff for 23 years, and I can assure you, this officers actions were definitely inappropriate. I'm still trying to decipher this conversation between parents and officer that you wrote there. I'm not understanding thoroughly why they were pulled over.

Regardless, the officers job is to enforce the law, it's not to stand there for a long period of time and chastise someone.

As for "negligent homicide", we'll leave that one for the judges.

Answer 9

cops see the results of 300 varieties of human stupidity every day. In a collision where the vehicle is going only five miles an hour,an unbelted kid in the front seat can lose an eye,break his neck,or have a hole put in his forehead by the glove compartment latch . that possibly short fused cop might have saved a kid from having a short life.

Answer 10

Some cops suck man. They have way to much power and it gets misused at times. That said, he sees kids blood painting winshields everyday. The stress of that might make you act out a lil bit when you see someone who made it safe.