Child Arrested, Charged for opening Xmas present early!!

I really thought that I had heard it all, but here is another cops gone mad story: A kid opens his present early, and gets the cops called on him by his own Mother!! And the cops charge!! I feel like I am taking crazy pills!!

www.thesmokinggun.com...

I can't access the link provided... I found this one..

News Story

The women said that the boy lied to them at first, saying he was unaware of where the video game system was. After threat of calling the police, the boy apparently gave the toy back to his mother, the paper reported. But the upset mother called police anyway.

Two officers responded and charged the child as a juvenile with petty larceny, although he was not jailed.

The mother told the Herald that she didn't know what else to do with her son, so she called police. The paper reported she is a single mother and has been struggling with constant behavior problems from the boy. She said her son still showed no remorse when the police came.

"I'm trying to get him some kind of help," the 27-year-old mother told the paper. "He's the type of kid who doesn't believe anything until it happens."

She said he has shoplifted, stolen money from her, punched a police officer and is nearing expulsion from school. She told the paper that she hopes this arrest will be a wake-up call for her son, because she worries about getting a call someday telling her he's been killed.

The mother plans to have her son placed with the state Department of Juvenile Justice in Columbia at his court appearance, the Herald reported.

So there we have it, the cops didn't go mad, didn't react unappropriately or anything. They did their jobs.

As always, two sides to every story.

Seriously, you have just got to be kidding, this is possibly the most ridiculous thing I have ever seen in my entire life. Just when you thought you had seen all the ways police abuse power, and all the ways our tax dollars are wasted, they go and one up us.

If this is real then the mother needs a smack across the face. The police should learn the law better. Society is so brainwashed it's really starting to show.

Doesn't anyone read... It wasn't the police who did this...

The Mother called the police, the kid is having issues and can't stay out of trouble, it was an attempt to get help for the kid who apparently can't listen to his mother and grandmother.

The cops did their job and did it well!

Show me how the police abused their power with this kid?


*chirp... chirp.... chirp*

It appears that the mother was unable to control her son and had given up all hope, leading her try an "unorthadox" discipline tactic. No doubt the police were going along with her idea. Technically, the boy IS in the wrong (although, yes, it IS petty but he does not OWN the gift until it has been GIVEN to him), and she most likely felt extreme frustration that her son did not recognise this, so called the police to try and make him understand it was wrong and why.


[edit on 19/12/07 by NuclearPaul]

I agree with what the mother did. I know a lot of people who wouldn't though. I have three kids of my own. Even though I may not have called the cops if it was the first time my child stole from me but I would take that gift back and not replace it with another. If it had happened before I would have called the police too. We have to teach our kids that it isn't acceptable to steal from anyone including their parents. This is something that we have to really get across to our kids in our homes.

[edit on 19-12-2007 by johannamoria]

reply to post by elevatedone


I dont think either of those posters above you read the article you posted. I see their response as Knee-jerk to the OP title and post.

Without being able to read the original article, I cant comment on what eyewitness86 might have read.

I side with you on this one though. Cops did what they were asked to do by the mother of a troubled boy, and hopefully for all parties involved, it works.

Now, if the cops had broken into the house and hit the kid with 50,000 volts, i could understand the outrage....

reply to post by gunner36


The mother called the cops...no abuse of power occured.

Better the cops maybe help the little brat now, when he's young and can still be reached, than in ten years or so, when they have to shoot him after he's robbed the local gas station. It's called community policing, or at least would seem to come under the umbrella of community policing. Good for them for trying something to reach this kid before it's too late.

reply to post by elevatedone


Thanks.. nice to get a clear idea of the ENTIRE story.. at first I was thinking no way..

Makes sense now.. I think that mother needs to give her brat of a son a little time with a psychiatrist eh? And I think the last thing he needs is a video game......

My God people, have you gone mad? The POLICE are NOT supposed to be used for purposes like this. So WHAT if the mother called them? They should have told her to call social services if she cannot handle her kid and doesn't want him anymore.

The LAW is NOT supposed to be used for purposes other than as written and intended by the legislature; That is what judges always decide, what the legislators intended and NOT what might make a kid listen to his Mom. The cops should NOT have charged thew kid because: The present was GIVEN to him: The fact that he disobeyed a RULE, not a LAW, means that he should have been disciplined by his Mom, but NOT arrested by the cops on a phony ' petty larceny ' charge, which WILL be dismissed.

The LAW is NOT supposed to be used to get people, especially kids, in front of a judge. If the Mom is so weak that she cannot handle the kid, she should give him up. But to allow the cops to deal with this undermines the law, the system and the courts. The charge can NEVER stick; any lawyer, and OUR tax money will now pay for an attorney to represent the kid, will get this thrown out immediately. It is an illegal arrest. There was NO probable cause to believe that the kid thought he was stealing; his intent was NOT to steal, and the INTENT is the heart of PROBABLE CAUSE.

You folks that cheer when the pig's get more and more involved in our personal lives I pray will have cause to regret your beliefs; when you call a cop to do the job of a parent, it is WRONG. It is an INSULT to the law to use a statute meant for thieves to harrass and punish a small child who merely opened a present early: Mom should have taken the presnt back, at the worst, as a lesson. Depending on pig's to take the place of common sense parenting is just another insane step to complete police control over all aspects of our lives.

Some of ytou are saying" It is Ok to abuse the intent of the law because Mom was fed up". Thats insane. You also are saying " The rule of law means nothing, it can be bent and changed so cop's can do anything they want to step in and solve problems THEIR way". Thats insane as well.

Cop's CANNOT be trusted to make decisions that are ion the best interests of the people: They make decisions that are in the interest of themselves and their bosses. In this case, a couple of stupid pig's decided to actually BREAK the law by FALSELY CHARGING a child with THEFT when they know that the child had NO INTENT of THEFT whatsoever. THAT is where the line is drawn. The LAW is being MISUSED and that is a bad thing, every time. It cannot be justified, not by people who invite the cops to break the law, and not by those who think that the law should be used as a hammer to beat people with.

This is another sickening example of people who trust the cops and who know nothing about the foundations of the law and the critical importance of keeping the law above nonsense like this. The cops were wrong, the Mom was wrong, and those of you who believe that using the law improperly and illegally to ' get attention ' are wrong. You want attention for a kid? Then call the proper agency and you will get it; just do NOT call the cop's: All they know is ' lock em up'..that is the extent of their ' counseling ' abilities, and that is NOT what is needed in family situations.

I am shocked that anyone could defend violating the intent of the law to placate some frustrated mom..there are legal ways to get help...this is NOT one of them..shame on you for thinking that this is Ok..illegal and improper..why not charge him with grand theft and resisting arrest also..I mean, if charges are phony and will be dropped, why not pile em on?? Ridiculous..sickening..stupid..cops should stay out of family beefs and stop violating the intent of the law and their authority.

Riiiight...

So um, what "law" did they break?

Technically, the toy was purchased by the mother, whom the child stole that present from .. technically, larceny is the "legal" interpretation of the law.. he stole from his mother.

The fact that the mother does not have a problem calling police on her spoiled brat of a child, is a good thing.. and it happens more often then you think .. kids steal, cheat and lie to parents all the time, and sometimes parents call the police over it. I think its a good thing.

Was it ever going to be taken seriously? No. I am sure most would hope citizens are not so ignorant they think they where honestly going to arrest the kid. Please. I would love to see that in court. They where just scaring the kid, because the kid needs to be scared. Apparently he has no problem breaking the law, and cares little for consequences. Not to mention he once assaulted a police officer. Could be charged for that as well.

So before you get your panties in a bunch, think about this. Is it not better a parent and the police and scare a kid into what will happen if he stays on his current degenerate path? I would think so. I once called the fire department as a kid .. actually my sister did but she blamed it on me.. they knew it was a prank, but they sent the entire Fire department, all the trucks, ambulance and a few police cars to the house any ways, and the fire chief gave me a lecture I to this day have not forgot.

Such is the inevitable sad result of a system that has endeavoured mightily to remove fathers from children's lives. But this outcome seems extreme. A normal mother would have called the 'ex' with the words: "I can't handle him anymore. You can pick him up at the bus station at .... o'clock."

reply to post by eyewitness86


To Protect and Serve

Motto of most police departments and thats what they did, they served their community by assisting this family who didn't know where else to turn.

I guess we're just going to agree to disagree... oh well.

[edit on 19-12-2007 by elevatedone]

reply to post by starviego


We don't know the status of the father. He could be dead. He could be in prison. He could be a horribly abusive man.

Just because a man can create a child, doesn't mean he is "father" material.

So, no, a "normal" mother may not call the bio dad in a case like this.

I think what the mother did, in this case, was a good thing. However, it sounds like the family needs some counseling. There are obviously issues in the home. Sad

The law that was broken was this: it is illegal for police to charge a person with an offense if they know that there is no probable cause for it. It is an illegal arrest, and can be sued for in Federal court.

There was NO THEFT, and anyone who saya there was did not read the article: The GIFT was GIVEN: At that point it was the childs property. The fact that the child broke a RULE, not a LAW. means that legal means should NOT have been used to rectify the situation. It was wrong, and you cannot make it right.

The family could have been referred to the juvenile person on duty at social services, and they could have counseld the family, no doubt settling things a lot better. In any case, police officers using a theft law against a child for disobeying a parents orders is a crime in itself, legally speaking. It is false arrest. No probable cause. No intent to steal: How could the child steal that which was GIVEN to him as a present? it is silly!!

NO INTENT..what part of that can't you comprehend? Intent is the basis of the law...with me so far? No intent, no law broken..no law broken, no arrest. Comprende? Got that? That is NOT in dispute: That is a FACT.

So the cop's were wrong, and the Mom was wrong, and many of you are wrong: Supporting illegal false arrests is a bad thing and those who do so dishonor the law and the Constitution. Shame on you!! Good Americans never support the breaking of the law!! False arrest is breaking the law. False arrest is knowing that the law you are charging with is not appropriate but you just want to arrest them for something and that will do. Not good enough for a free nation!! Great for a police state!! Think people.

reply to post by eyewitness86


Just because the mother is having trouble controlling her child does not mean that she wants to give him up, nor should she.

Furthermore, I find it completely ironic that you recommend calling the beuracratic and over-burdoned Child Services for such a problem. As if they don't have enough on their plate as it is, that now they should go around resolving disputes between children and their biological parents!

I see nothing wrong with what this mother did. And I see absolutely nothing wrong with what the police did. The police do things like this all the time at the request of parents. It's sort of a "scared-straight" tactic and it often works well.

For all we know this single mother has done everything reasonable in raising this difficult child. For all we know, she doesn't have the money nor the necessary insurance to send this child to a psychiatrist (as if that'd even work anyway). I applaud this woman for putting her foot down in the absense of a father figure and calling the police. It's not like the police were busy teaching this kid a lesson and as a result a bank was being robbed and a woman being raped.

The police are there to protect and serve their community. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure, and if they can get to this kid now before he grows up to become an adult criminal, then they are not only doing the child and the mother a great service- but also the taxpayers of this community who would have to bear the burdon of his future crimes and incarceration.

Good job by the mother. At least she cares about setting her son on the right track

Better then seeing the kid dead in 10 years time from drugs, gang violence etc. Hopefully this will straighten him out for the future

reply to post by eyewitness86

There was NO THEFT, and anyone who saya there was did not read the article: The GIFT was GIVEN: At that point it was the childs property.

The gift had NOT been given to the child. It still belonged to the mother. She paid for it, it was still HERS.

woman called police and asked them to arrest her son who opened a Christmas present early after being told not to...


"He took it without permission. He wanted it. He just took it,"

She said he has shoplifted, stolen money from her....

www.kcra.com...

The boy clearly had a problem with taking things w/out permission. Now maybe he will learn that this is wrong.

Him taking that wraped up present is NO different then him reaching in his mother's purse and taking out money.

The police did their job, the mother is trying to do her job.



[edit on 19-12-2007 by greeneyedleo]

What part of not all cops are bad dont' you understand?

It's not difficult.

I don't know what happened to cause you all this anger towards cops, but it isn't necessary and you are wrong. Whatever the case may be, I'm sorry that you feel this way towards law inforcement, I really am.

Are you a lawyer? The way you go off about the law and what is right and wrong, legal and illegal, one would have to wonder where you get your information?

Like I said, I guess we just agree to disagree, but my goodness, I hope that you can get over whatever it is you have against policmen.