Brittany Patterson, 41, said she was shocked that her son's stroll could lead to a criminal charge.
Summary
Brittany Patterson, 41, was shocked to face a criminal charge for alleged reckless conduct when her unsupervised 10-year-old son walked less than a mile from their home.
Although authorities offered to drop the charge if she agreed to always supervise her children, Patterson refuses to sign, insisting she did nothing wrong and will fight the charge, which could lead to up to a year in jail.
Her lawyer argues that parents should have discretion over their children’s whereabouts, questioning if constant GPS tracking is now expected. Patterson was released on $500 bail.
I crossed out "small town" because Mineral Bluff is too small to even count as incorporated. Literally all that's there, in terms of businesses, is a gas station, a Dollar General, and whatever the Hell this is.
That's what happens when you have a general store and a Dollar general comes in next door. They sell anything you can't get at the Dollar general store and then advertising space.
How we have lost perspective. When I was that age I was forced to walk to school, a distance of about 1.5 miles.
Forced, mind you, because if you were considered "too close" to the school you were not eligible to ride the bus. Other than the land directly adjoining the school grounds, the roads I had to use also did not have sidewalks. The number of children killed, maimed, or injured by this during the years I attended that school were, to my knowledge... zero.
Or, as they were called then, kids. This modern stranger danger and always track your kids is insane, everyone be living like the sky is falling every ten seconds.
That poor kid. I already was upset thinking about them having to see Mom get arrested. I didn't even consider the fact that the youngest is probably blaming himself.
Cuffed normally is behind your back. You only get cuffs in front with some prisoner transfers where you also have leg shackles and a belt. Cops routinely have a pleasant and peaceful interaction turn violent and it isn't worth risking harm to anybody by not equally applying a handcuff and search policy.
Often it is department policy that anyone arrested is handcuffed. Some stipulate that anyone who goes in the back of a squad car gets handcuffed as part of detaining someone.
Town of 400? Was she a flight risk. Could they not have asked her to come by and remand herself? Do keep in mind this is a non-violent crime. This was for show, to make a point or simply to be cruel.
The police here are probably just two of the 400 people with no oversight.
When the deputy was complaining about her child wandering downtown, It paints a very different picture if there's only a general store a Dollar general and a gas station.
The only thing I can imagine if the police aren't being dick heads, is that the kid was getting into trouble. Maybe he was stealing or being perceived as stealing. Because he was being homeschooled maybe he was down there and they were pissed off because he was truant but can't really be truant.