As a child, as I am sure many of us did, I used to walk the streets of my local neighborhood, often straying miles from home. As far as I remember, this wasn't illegal. We haven't arrived at involuntary house arrest for kids in the US quite yet. However, after a woman had to take one of her children to hospital, her unsupervised son took a small walk, and she was arrested.
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While taking one of her kids to the hospital, Brittany Patterson, 41, left her 10-year-old son at home, safe and sound. But, he decided to take a little walk to the local dollar store, less than a mile away. On his walk, he bumped into the local busybody. She took the 10-year-old home despite him repeatedly telling her he was fine on the short walk. Then, she decided to call the police which resulted in the mother's arrest.
Typically, the arrest was malicious and completely unnecessary by the meddling police. After knocking on her door, the bodycam footage shows them accusing her of reckless endangerment before handcuffing her. How this is supposed to help her two remaining children in the house is beyond me. Her 10-year-old and older son will be without their mother much longer.
As usual, there was little information given to the mother as she was bundled away. The children now have to deal with the trauma of having their mother arrested in handcuffs without a prior warning.
Can A 10-year-old Not Walk Alone?
After her arrest, she was charged with reckless endangerment of the boy and given a $1000 fine with up to a year in jail. However, her community has rallied around her, and a foundation has stepped up for representation. A GoFundMe has been set up to help cover legal costs.
This case goes deeper than just the 10-year-old taking an unsupervised walk. It has more complex implications. The court demanded that she put a tracker on her son, to watch where he is at all times. It also requires her to have a guardian for the children every time she leaves home. She refused to comply with the first, and for good reason.
As her legal representative points out "Are all parents going to have to put GPS on their child? The parents get to decide for their children unless it is unreasonably dangerous." This seems like a case of the law being far too heavy-handed with human freedoms. Are children no longer allowed to be outside of the house? Can a 10-year-old not walk less than a mile from their home without their parents being accused of neglect?
