If you read the attached article, it says that the law says it is illegal to "take your eyes off a child under the age of 14". It says the officer arrested her because she was not looking at her child. Wow. All parents will be arrested at some point if that's the law. I should have been arrested by now.
It goes on to say that that means if you let your child walk to school w/out an adult, you are committing a crime. So a twelve year old can't walk to school with his friends, even if it's just a couple of blocks away.
I sincerely hope this woman is found not guilty. This law goes way too far.

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This is a very sad case of the police being so far over the top as well as the person who called the police.

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I can sympathize with this mother. The exact same thing happened to me in Ohio, except that my kids are 4 and 6.5. We'd played at a beautiful botanical gardens and we were all exhausted. Made a quick stop at the store. Came out, pulled out of the spot and a police officer waved me back into my parking space. He proceeded to tell me someone called 911, that it was illegal (which it's not, no law exists in Ohio) and told me three times that he may handcuff me and take me to jail of course in front of my children and left me crying hysterically in the parking lot. It was much more dangerous to leave me there in complete and utter shock, in the least, he should have requested an escort (police in this town of 5300 have nothing better to do, extremely low crime). Temps were 60's degrees, kids sitting quietly.

It's interesting because I am a NICU RN and although in this area, mom's can use cocaine while they are pregnant and the baby is SENT HOME with the drug user even if the baby tests POSITIVE for cocaine.

Yet, don't run into a store for a few minutes!! The prosecutor even admitted that if there was a case to dimiss, it would be this one, but he said he wouldn't dismiss any case. He promised to attempt to lock me in jail for 6 months if I didn't accept his plea deal. My husband and I had already attended foster parenting classes to adopt another child. We weren't looking for a 'perfect' child. We were willing to take a child with multiple medical needs if God placed him or her with us. With my extensive medical background, I felt qualified to care for such a child and I fell in love with preemies working with them. Fortunately the board of nursing did not take my license after I accepted a plea deal of disorderly conduct. 2 weeks after I accepted it, I came down with a life threatening infection caused by the stress and had to be treated with IM and oral antibiotics. This nearly killed me, all because some woman sitting in a parking lot had nothing better to do.

Of course, she could have spoken with me or yelled at me, or whatever, but, nope, she decided to ruin my life.

Of course no one in this area also puts bicycle helmets on their child and the police don't care. Not wearing a helmet while riding a bicycle is MUCH more dangerous than leaving 2 kids in a locked car on a cool day without the keys.

The case that someone referred to about the child who was dragged... the parent left the keys in the vehicle, easily ensuring that the perpetrator could hikack the vehicle.

We are moving to another state, I refuse to allow our tax dollars to support a community that treats it's citizens like this. If we wanted to get technical, any parent that circumsizes their male child should also be charged with child endangerment. In Ohio, many pediatricians also do not use analgesia, this is child abuse to the extreme! Severe complications can arise including sepsis and death and I've certainly seen my share of horribly botched circumcisions. So for all of those parents out there who think that they are perfect...think again!

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Elaine, I hate to break it to you, but if you went into the store and left your 4 and 6 yr old in the car alone, it was NOT the same thing as this case. You left your children in a car in a parking lot by themselves while you went into a store. You were not there within sight. She was at least in sight of her vehicle. You left them very vulnerable. I'm sorry if that pains you, but you are the one who entered into the long diatribe about how badly YOU were wronged.

Personally, I wouldn't have done even what this woman did.

Yes, I Pay-at-the-Pump, but I am less than a foot from my van at all times, if even that far. In all other instances, my 3 and 5 yr olds come with me, as inconvenient as it may be.

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This is injustice on Ms. Coyne's part. With the weather being as it was that day, cops would probably had said something to her if she had taken her child out of the car and exposed her to the inclement weather! And CPS, uh uh, they look for any and EVERY reason to add another case to their loads...as if the system isn't loaded enough as it is with REAL crimes against children. I wish Ms. Coyne good luck!

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This is another waste of taxpayer money. If it is proved she never left the car from her sight- drop the charges. But, please do discipline those officers that left behind two children.

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For one, the car was LOCKED! For two, the alarm was ACTIVATED! For three, she was right THERE-in viewing distance!! There hadn't even been enough time elapse, for the car's engine to cool down(so freezing to death-not an option)! As a married mother of five beautiful children (whom I have never even entrusted to a babysitter), I find this case rather disgusting!! As for those of you that say you never leave your kids out of your sight-Do you go down every slide with them at the park (literally!)? Do you sleep in their bedrooms ? I have heard of many cases of children being kidnapped right from their own beds at night. In my opinion, those that cannot see the "grey areas" with this case, either have never had children of their own, or are not very experienced as parents!! Just like it is very different to lie and tell an ugly person they are pretty, then to steal something and stand in denial. There are "grey areas" in all aspects of life!! Fine lines people-fine lines!!

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This whole story is ridiculous. I'll be praying for you, Treffly Coyne, your family needs you. Can't the authorities what this has done to this family. Many other parents have done much worse and I heard that the police couldn't get involved because there wasn't enough evidence. In my opinion that one child was safe when the alarm was on and the doors were locked and the mother not far away. But it was when the police stepped in that put all the children at risk. Her other children must have been terrified and probably still are. Now who can they trust? Hang in there, Treffly.

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The police officer involved should be have been charged and suspended for leaving the other children. It's amazing what government agencies will do to invade private citizens lives. Are police officers held accountable for "abandonment" while inside a diner or donut shop while they should be on their post patrolling? Jesse Lundsford may be alive if the police in her community had been doing their jobs. This woman deserves praise for encouraging her children to collect money and participate in community outreach. I wonder if there is a legal defense fund for this family, to help offset their legal costs?

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This is just one more instance that illustrates the growing problem in the is country. We're becoming a nanny-state, people. It is completely absurd that this woman, who by all measures is an excellent mother, should be prosecuted for such in insignificant event. Most laws are written/enforced with good intentions, but the reality is much different. If risk is what we're trying to avoid with children, then why is it okay to take them to McDonald's??? They could get obese, which certainly increases their risks. Should we keep children inside all the time, so they're not exposed to smog?? Where does it end?? We just simply cannot eliminate all risks to children, and even if we could, would we want to???

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Good Lord wake up people. As a kid i road in the back of pick-ups, had a pocket knife, given a rifle tu hunt with my grandpa, and on and on and on. All of which would have landed my parents in jail by todays legal garbage! Just a note since I work with troubled Kids, todays child welfare department is a buissness and make no mistake about it. They recieve monitary compensation for each child they are in custody of and even if you are in the foster system the state gets thier cut. A good portion of child endangerment laws were written by that department and it is out of control. Unfortunatly they instruct the police on what to look for and tell them just what a danger the parents are to the child. It all stems back to whos raising your children, The school system says they know best the welfare system says they do, just a thought how did we all survive before they came about? I home schooled my children and was labeled because of it, now that they are all sucessfull Im congradulated So at what point did I go from bad to good? I applaud this mother for teaching her children the value of being generous and going out of her way to do so. It would have been much easier to wait on the weather, traffic or just not go at all. But instead her children now look at cops as untrutworthy and cruel because they took away her mommy for being kind. Think this is an unfair assesment, I invite you to visit your local juvy hall and talk to the kids like I do, you might get an earfull you would have a hard time beliving on thier experiances with police and thier families. Not all police are bad and not all situations dont warant aggressive behavior on thier part. Dont get me wrong but some need far more common scence training before putting on that uniform. ps. I wore a badge for years

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Definately, NOT child endagerment. I am a mom, and I 100% support this mother. This is outright ridiculous, and a waste of Il taxpayer's money. Hope all goes well for her, hang in there.

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That overzealous police officer must be under some kind of pressure to meet a "quota" for arrests, like many of the traffic cops do. I hope I sit in the jury for the trial, and would acquit this poor lady in no time. And I would blast any jury member not agreeing with me for being idiot.

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This is insane. What has our justice system come to? Yes, while I think it might hae not been the best bet to leave the child alone in a car, this does not constitute abuse or neglect. I mean, for heaven's sake she was 20 ft from the car with other children giving charity! I am a social work student and I can tell you there are enough children in the system that should be focused on. There are already too many children taken away from their parents for accusations of neglect, etc... This woman I guarantee will never do something like this again. Yes, it was a mistake, but is anyone perfect? I mean, come on what parent hasn't made a simple mistake. and seriously, she thought she was doing a good thing. We need to spend our time and mony focusing on real abuse cases and not trashing some woman's name and life because she made a mistake. She appears to be a good mother and maybe just had her hands full for a total of 4 minutes.

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Unbelievable. Another case of a stupid government functionary out of control. The risk to the baby was virtually non-existent. Has anyone stopped to consider whether the baby might've been struck by lightning if the mother had taken her out of the car? Or softball-sized hail? Where is common sense? They need to add IQ tests to the police academy application forms.

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Our system is so crazy. Seems it does not help those that need it and only hurt those families that try to do the right thing. I wish this family the best and any other family that has to endure such craziness.

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