Police in Georgia are facing criticism after a traffic stop left a mother fearing for her daughter’s safety. The woman says her baby girl was riding with a friend who was pulled over for a traffic violation. When officers arrested the friend, they failed to check on the child or ensure someone was responsible for her.
After learning what happened, the mother contacted an officer at her workplace and asked to be taken to the scene so she could reach her daughter as quickly as possible.
The incident has raised questions about basic protocol during arrests, especially when a child is present.
The Georgia mother first shared a video from the back of a police car as she was being driven to the scene where her friend had been arrested. She later posted an update explaining what happened next. When she arrived, she realized her daughter had been put at risk.
Although the patrol car was still on-site, no officer was watching the child. The mother heard her daughter crying and found her inside the car with the windows down. Officers had even unbuckled the toddler and left her in the driver’s seat. With traffic passing at high speeds, the situation could have turned dangerous quickly, whether through an accident or the possibility of someone approaching the vehicle.
According to the mother, her daughter had been left alone for roughly 20 minutes, long enough for something to go seriously wrong.
According to the mother, officers also stopped her friend from checking on the child during the arrest. She was told the baby would be taken care of, but that didn’t appear to be the case.
The mother says the department has no plans to hold the officers involved accountable. She was told that bodycam footage allegedly shows officers watching the child, yet no one could explain why her daughter was left unbuckled in the driver’s seat with the windows down on a busy road. She also says the department refused to release the footage to her, raising further questions.
If the footage supports their account, she argues, there should be no issue with allowing her to see it. She plans to involve a lawyer, who will formally request the video.
People Reacting to the Terrified Georgia Mom’s Story
People, especially moms, felt scared on behalf of the Georgia mom. No one would even want to imagine the same thing happening to their kids. This is why many told her to sue as one person said, “Sue the whole [expletive] state.” Another person joked, “what you finna rename the state girl??” Several comments also told her to contact CPS. “Contact CPS for neglect and file charges on officer also ask for his\her bond#,” one person wrote. Someone else also said, “they could’ve at least put her in their car or just stayed outside with her. Anybody with common knowledge knows that. I’m so sorry that happened.”
Other comments blamed the police officers in Georgia for putting the baby in danger’s way. Some even mentioned everything that could have gone wrong. “i’m a 911 dispatcher and a mother i can think of 10 awful things that could have happened to that baby.. i hope you are able to take legal action,” one woman wrote. Another woman then said, “People call the cops for leaving children in running vehicles unattended all the time I don’t care if they were standing there that child could have chocked on something she found on the floor or coins in the cup holder and they would never know! So this was definitely unacceptable!” They have got a point.
