Free-range kids picked up AGAIN by police

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
I think parents for the most part know their kids and what boundaries they need to set for them and when they can give them their space. I really don't think it does society or these kids any good to have busy bodies second-guessing the judgment of parents.

Clearly the kids were not in peril. The 911 operator who answered the call should have told the guy to call the local police department and to keep the line clear for real emergencies.

If given an opportunity to think this through I don't think anyone, including the guy who made the call, believes that these kids are safer or better off with CPS than with their parents.

Also, I wonder if the guy had known what was to come next - highly irresponsible actions on the part of the police and CPS to basically kidnap these kids - he would have actually made the call.

I hope the parents lawyer up and sue the county for unlawful imprisonment.



So we should all just look the other way if we think someone might need help? Fear of being wrong about whether or not they actually need our help should keep everyone's eye diverted.

This guy probably thought pretty hard about what to do. He said he'd been watching them for 20 min already before finally calling for help or assistance on how to best proceed.

If something had happened to these children, don't you think it would weigh heavier on him that he stood back and did nothing? I'd take making someone upset if I felt I was genuinely doing the best I knew to do regarding someone's safety, especially a child. That's much better that regret.

Wow that guy should be arrested. Why is he taking so much interest in kids? Very abby normal.

[Anonymous]

The fact that everybody picked up on the capris joke has restored my faith in humanity.

[Anonymous]

Long live capris!

Keep calm and wear capris!

I scream, you scream, we all scream for capris!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Cops and CPS
I, for one, that wants things to be checked out when there is a report of kids in possible harm's way. Look into it, and if it is unfounded, so be it. Just like that horrible story of the kid in
Arizona, I think. He was being horribly abused, he called 911. Cops come to the house and the mom and boyfriend convinced the cops nothing was going on.
Within weeks, they murdered that kid.

But in this case, somebody else called 911 because there were two children at a park who then started walking home, and their clothes looked dirty.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/local/wp/2015/04/15/listen-to-the-911-call-that-led-cops-to-take-the-free-range-kids-into-custody/

What difference does that make?\
The point is, if there is a call about kids, it needs to be checked out. Maybe you find out the caller is a kook, maybe you find out it was a false alarm, maybe you find out that the kids are in real trouble, but you have to investigate to come to any of these conclusions.

Sure. And the police officer could have checked out the call by talking to the kids and then concluding that everything was ok. It isn't necessary to respond to every call with police/CPS custody and a CPS investigation.

There had already been two reports, so apparently the names were flagged that CPS needed to be informed of any future police contact. CPS is there to protect kids who need help, who have no one to speak up for them. The only way to determine which kids need help and which kids do not is to investigate situations that are brought to their attention. The fact that CPS exists shows that our society values children and cares about their welfare when their families can not for whatever reasons.

Okay. We agree that CPS has a good mission. We agree that CPS should exist.

CPS has already interacted with this family, so they already know their names. They already know that the children walk home unaccompanied. Why detain them for hours, when they find them doing that?

Several reasons, one of which would be that there is more to this than meets the eye. They have been flagged for a reason. They have even been investigated. A PP said CPS once came over to check up on them and their child because of a drunk neighbor. Why wasn't she on their lists for the next 5 years because it was clear as day that there was no neglect, which is something we cannot conclude from the Meitivs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is not about middle class parents demanding some kind of special treatment. If they find Shaniqua's kid, even if he's 2 years old, on the side of the highway, and covered in poop, yes the mom should be their first call. This is not to say they should immediately turn him over to mom and forget about him. But since when does a previous interaction with CPS (interaction CPS themselves agreed did not rise to the level of "substantiated neglect") deprive the parents of the right to know their where their children are?

The kids were in a police car a few blocks from the home but the parents could not find them. That fact makes me wonder what would have happened if the kids had needed help. Apparently, the area that needed to be searched was large enough that the parents were unable to find the kids even though they were so close.

I think the parents did not look hard enough. Maybe drunk on wine after a long drive back from NJ/NY? They too had to let off some steam.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Who knows, for some reason the dog walker thought the kids were endangered and called the police.
The kids do have a very disheveled, unkempt look to them, so maybe that was why he/she called the police.

I applaud the caller. Better safe than sorry. I am glad we have citizens calling 911. Be frank now, how many of PP have called 911 in the past when it did not involve yourselves?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Nope. Wrong. IF it were actually in a neighborhood, then the guy walking the dog would probably know the kids' family and/or at least some of their neighbors. So they could check on them and make sure it was ok. That's what would have happened in my neighborhood growing up. My parents would have called the kids' parents if they thought the kids looked kind of lost or over their heads. But if they didn't know the kids' parents, they would call the police. No one in the world who ever met us would say they (or I) don't have social skills.

But they didn't look kind of lost or over their heads. They were 3 blocks from home -- why would they?

If they were 3 blocks from home, why didn't their parents find them? I think, and nobody has yet brought it up, the parents needed some alone time.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Just listened to the 911 tape and so glad that there are people like him in the community who was genuinely worried about these children and just called 911 to make sure they were ok. We should be giving him a hearty thank you instead of criticizing him.

Bravo to the 911 caller. He had the guts to call. Read this to be reminded what happens when people don't call.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murder_of_Kitty_Genovese

I keep saying to myself, if everything was perfect and fine, there would never have been the first investigation, but obviously CPS/police/judge etc saw something to keep them on their files for the next 5 years.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think it is odd that people would criticize the 911 caller, who was just trying to look out for the kids, regardless of whether he overestimated or underestimated their ages and abilities. It is really up to the police to determine whether anything inappropriate or neglectful was going on once they got there. If a random citizen is in doubt, they should contact the authorities and let the authorities deal with it from there.

There must be something in the water...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Just listened to the 911 tape and so glad that there are people like him in the community who was genuinely worried about these children and just called 911 to make sure they were ok. We should be giving him a hearty thank you instead of criticizing him.

Bravo to the 911 caller. He had the guts to call. Read this to be reminded what happens when people don't call.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murder_of_Kitty_Genovese

I keep saying to myself, if everything was perfect and fine, there would never have been the first investigation, but obviously CPS/police/judge etc saw something to keep them on their files for the next 5 years.

Wow. I hope the parents sue and win, big time. Kitty Genovese, really?!

[Anonymous]

There was an armed robbery at a gas station in Silver Spring this morning. High School on lock down. The sad part is that this type of violent crime is becoming more common in silver spring.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
I think parents for the most part know their kids and what boundaries they need to set for them and when they can give them their space. I really don't think it does society or these kids any good to have busy bodies second-guessing the judgment of parents.

Clearly the kids were not in peril. The 911 operator who answered the call should have told the guy to call the local police department and to keep the line clear for real emergencies.

If given an opportunity to think this through I don't think anyone, including the guy who made the call, believes that these kids are safer or better off with CPS than with their parents.

Also, I wonder if the guy had known what was to come next - highly irresponsible actions on the part of the police and CPS to basically kidnap these kids - he would have actually made the call.

I hope the parents lawyer up and sue the county for unlawful imprisonment.



So we should all just look the other way if we think someone might need help? Fear of being wrong about whether or not they actually need our help should keep everyone's eye diverted.

This guy probably thought pretty hard about what to do. He said he'd been watching them for 20 min already before finally calling for help or assistance on how to best proceed.

If something had happened to these children, don't you think it would weigh heavier on him that he stood back and did nothing? I'd take making someone upset if I felt I was genuinely doing the best I knew to do regarding someone's safety, especially a child. That's much better that regret.

Wow that guy should be arrested. Why is he taking so much interest in kids? Very abby normal.

How sad that your take away from all of this is that the guy is somehow a perv or something. He couldn't possibly have been concerned about them so he was hanging out to make sure they were okay.....then called police when he realized they were unsupervised. Yup, anyone who is concerned and watching out for the kids should definitely be arrested!!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There was an armed robbery at a gas station in Silver Spring this morning. High School on lock down. The sad part is that this type of violent crime is becoming more common in silver spring.

Silver Spring has long been a bit rough.

Obviously it would be best for the Mietivs to move somewhere nicer, along with every other middle to upper class family. Abandon SS to the criminals.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There was an armed robbery at a gas station in Silver Spring this morning. High School on lock down. The sad part is that this type of violent crime is becoming more common in silver spring.

I'm waiting for you to provide data to support your assertion that armed robberies at gas stations (or just plain armed robberies?) are becoming more common in Silver Spring.

Also, the high school in question is Montgomery Blair, which is 1.8 miles in the other direction from Ellsworth Park; north of the Beltway; and not at all in Downtown Silver Spring.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
There was an armed robbery at a gas station in Silver Spring this morning. High School on lock down. The sad part is that this type of violent crime is becoming more common in silver spring.


I'm waiting for you to provide data to support your assertion that armed robberies at gas stations (or just plain armed robberies?) are becoming more common in Silver Spring.

Also, the high school in question is Montgomery Blair, which is 1.8 miles in the other direction from Ellsworth Park; north of the Beltway; and not at all in Downtown Silver Spring.

Well guess the cops have their priorities.