The Black Vault

Mom sues police and neighbor after she is arrested for letting her kids play outside

By Claudine Zap | The Sideshow – 23 hrs ago

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.

Source

Common sense isn't very common anymore, it seems. All hail this wonderful PC world we live in, one step away from the U.S.S.A. People are falling all over themselves to snitch with these new see something, report it programs. Problem is, they're reporting perfectly normal everyday activities and law enforcement are actually arresting people for it.

So the mom is suing the police and the neighbor?

Sounds like a colossal clusterf***.

Do you think that lawsuit is frivolous?

Nothing worse than bad blood between neighbors, and people who misuse the dept of child services for neighbor squables should be prosocuted for it. There is more to this story as far as whatever has been going on between neighbors that led up to this IMHO.

Not at all, seeing as this mother was not only detained but arrested on hearsay. At no point did the police actually investigate the incident beyond the initial "witness" testimony. The mother was not questioned, she was detained and arrested based on the neighbor's testimony that she broke the law. Proper protocol and existing laws were circumvented in favor of taking an arrest first, question later approach. In cases of sexual misconduct, law enforcement always takes an arrest first question later approach. This was no such case. Dispatching a case worker from the Department of Human Resources that was working with a detective, would have been appropriate.

These individuals would then conduct interviews with the neighbor, the mother and most importantly the children. Common sense could then be applied. Are the children alright? Are they being provided with a safe nurturing environment? You don't just go all Rambo and arrest the mother based on circumstantial evidence at best. Of course, as we've seen time and time again, common sense escapes law enforcement these days. They've become revenue and policy enforcement officers instead.

greeney2 wrote:Nothing worse than bad blood between neighbors, and people who misuse the dept of child services for neighbor squables should be prosocuted for it. There is more to this story as far as whatever has been going on between neighbors that led up to this IMHO.

Yes, this is why I am extra nice to my neighbors. You don't sh!t where you eat.

En-Lugal wrote: common sense escapes law enforcement these days. They've become revenue and policy enforcement officers instead.

That's kinda true but what if we consider the tens of thousands of police-civilian interactions that don't make the news?

Whether or not these cases or interactions make the news is irrelevant, one case is too many. We're not talking about Job Blow here, we're talking about men and women who have to show a working knowledge of the laws of this land to even be considered for the job. They know the law better than the average citizen or at least they're supposed to. Maybe they're counting on this? Seems to be the case as they continuously break the law and instead enforce these "policies" they've adopted. A recurring theme in many, if not most, documented cases of police breaking the law or operating outside of law. (brutality; etc)

"Ignorance is no excuse for breaking the law". That's usually the first thing law enforcement officers tell you and usually the excuse for law enforcement breaking the very laws they are supposed to enforce. There is no excuse, in my opinion, as this is their job. They've studied and passed rigorous testing, they're supposed to know this stuff. They do know this stuff and willingly commit to breaking the laws they're supposed to uphold and enforce. This is worse, in my opinion, than being a criminal. It's corruption and should, and thankfully usually does, have stiffer penalties under the law.

I agree that one is too many.

I remember a story of a drunk man who was in his home when police showed up.

They ordered him to exit the house and come towards their car. Just as he left his property, they cited him for being drunk in public.

Does that make all cops dirty?

Whom were they serving and protecting? Was he abusive to someone in the home? Did he attack anyone in or near his home? Yes, they typically abuse their authority by giving commands to people they know will result in an arrest. They'll do the same thing to someone that's a passenger in a vehicle that has been drinking. Order you out, for some BS reason, and then arrest you for public intoxication. You have the right to refuse but then you run the risk of pissing them off and having them tack on resisting arrest when they drag you out. Usually dependent on how much of a douche bag the officer is.

Don't get me wrong, I've met some nice people in law enforcement. Most of them were sheriffs deputies and one city cop I can recall who were nice. I've personally seen with my eyes police officers smoke a joint and then go on duty, even do it on duty. I've seen the same officer harass young women for sexual favors he knew had a warrant for their arrest. This same cop of the year has even beaten suspects in custody, in the middle of the street for all to see. Lying face down and in handcuffs. The guy and his fellow officers that turned a blind eye, are all scum.

When you're poor and have to live in areas full of crime and criminals, you see things. Thankfully I got out of there and never looked back. I live in the country now, it's peaceful, it's quiet. It isn't crime-free but nowhere is. My biggest worry out here are home invasions. Of course they'll have to get through my dogs first and by then they'll be full of hollow points. Then the sheriff can come bag 'em. That's a scenario I hope never presents itself though.