Nosy neighbor gets Mother arrested for letting kids play outside
It’s bad enough that a nosy neighbor thinks they can raise your kids better than you, and then calls the cops, but it’s even worse when the cops and the District Attorney’s office merely take them at their word . . . and arrest you?!?
Yahoo!News relates:
Allowing your kids to play on scooters outside the house on a quiet street seems innocent–and common–enough. But a Texas mom was arrested and spent the night in jail after a neighbor complained that the children were unsupervised.
The parent, Tammy Cooper, disputes the “humiliating” charge, saying she was watching the kids, ages 6 and 9, the whole time from a lawn chair.
But police took the neighbor at her word, and a few hours after the call, arrested Cooper for child endangerment. Cooper told KPRC that the arresting officer told her, “We’re here for you.”
The accused parent spent the night behind bars. “Orange jump suit, in a cell, slammed the door, for 18 hours,” she said.
Cooper is suing the La Porte Police Department, the officer, and the neighbor who made the call. In a statement, the police department said it was “confident of the known actions of the officers on the scene that evening.” The neighbor had no comment.
http://youtu.be/PMcGF_8muHs
Every town and jurisdiction needs some form of legal remedy for people false accused and wrongly detained like this. In addition, there should be checks against those who make the false allegations and wrongful actions.
The video report says things are now “tense” between Tammy and her neighbor. Here’s a fix:
1. The neighbor who made the false accusation should acknowledge her mistake.
2. The neighbor should apologize and ask forgiveness.
3. The neighbor should offer to pay Tammy’s legal expenses in her efforts to sue the police.
These may not cover everything, but would certainly be a good start.