‘Free-range’ parents plan to file lawsuit after police pick up children

[Deleted]

... “We must ask ourselves how we reached the point where a parent’s biggest fear is that government officials will literally seize our children off the streets as they walk in our neighborhoods”

Source: http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/...31429036953332

A D.C-based law firm will file suit and pursue “all legal remedies” to protect the rights of the Maryland parents whose two young children were taken into custody for more than five hours Sunday after someone reported them as they made their way home unsupervised from a Silver Spring park, the firm said Tuesday.

Danielle and Alexander Meitiv were “rightfully outraged by the irresponsible actions” of Maryland Child Protective Services and Montgomery County police, said attorney Matthew Dowd, of the firm Wiley Rein, in a written statement.

“We must ask ourselves how we reached the point where a parent’s biggest fear is that government officials will literally seize our children off the streets as they walk in our neighborhoods,” he said.
...
The Meitivs’ children were picked up by police as they walked home from Ellsworth Park at 5 p.m. Sunday. Their parents had expected them home by 6 p.m. and Danielle Meitiv said they frantically searched for Rafi, 10, and Dvora, 6, before being notified at 8 p.m. that CPS had the children.

"free-range kids" - so, are all children ever born before the 00's in the US, and all children everywhere else to date, abnormal?

[Independent voter]

I grew up in a small town about 1300 people, all children where free range children.

I can't see letting children run around in a city though, too many strangers you don't know.

[Feral Camel]

I can understand the 10 year old having a little more freedom, but not the 6 year... and the 10 year old should not be accountable for a 6 year old either.

[Deleted]

I can understand the 10 year old having a little more freedom, but not the 6 year... and the 10 year old should not be accountable for a 6 year old either.

That's how siblings walk to school in most places I know in Europe. No one would consider it unusual as long as one of them is older than 7 years old and if one of them is even close to preteen/teen, they wouldn't be noticed at all.

Detaining children for hours without contacting their parents ... if this were anyone other than the police, this would be considered a form of kidnapping·

[Acidbaron]

For 5 hours unattended a 6 year old, the state should slam them back with a case of neglect.

3 hours is not a long time to keep kids in a police station knowing they have they protocols to run through and figure out who they are.

[Deleted]

For 5 hours unattended a 6 year old, the state should slam them back with a case of neglect.

That was CAUSED by the police, i.e. the state!

3 hours is not a long time to keep kids in a police station knowing they have they protocols to run through and figure out who they are

Just stop and think about that statement, which is also wrong since it only refers to just the time they were spent trapped inside a police car, plus the kids had all the details about who they were and who to contact on them.

What would your parents have thought if you failed to get home within even 20 minutes of your normal arrival time from school as a preteen/teen, let alone as a child?

Reread:

The statement alleged that the pair were detained in a police car for almost three hours, kept from their parents for over six hours without access to food, and “not returned to the parents until almost midnight on the night before school.”

[Acidbaron]

Okay i read it wrong, still i see nothing wrong with the police picking up to young kids that are unattended. They also weren't walking home from school it was on a sunday.

[Deleted]

I think this is one of those incidents thats going to be blown way out of proportion because "will anyone think of the children".

This statement: “We must ask ourselves how we reached the point where a parent’s biggest fear is that government officials will literally seize our children off the streets as they walk in our neighborhoods”

Thats one of those fearmongering quotes intended to be a headline.

[Templar 331]

"Cops kidnapped my kids!!"

Well if you'd watch them you'd know where they were now wouldn't you.......

[Flutterguy]

Totally ridiculous. I thought the purposes of CPS was to go after abused kids, not siblings walking each other home from the fucking park of all things.

Shit, we used to play in the hills unsupervised all the time. You followed the rules. Watch out for rattle snakes, don't go past certain points, be home by a certain time, and don't talk to strangers.

[Howard Moon]

We should supervise our kids 24/7 and never let them walk to/from school/park/etc alone. God bless our freedom!

[Dispraise]

This statement: “We must ask ourselves how we reached the point where a parent’s biggest fear is that government officials will literally seize our children off the streets as they walk in our neighborhoods”

Thats one of those fearmongering quotes intended to be a headline.

I would totally agree with you that it's sensationalized, fearmongering bullshit, except for the part where government officials literally seized their children off the streets as they walked in their neighborhood.

We should supervise our kids 24/7 and never let them walk to/from school/park/etc alone. God bless our freedom!

If they're out of your sight for more than five seconds at a time, it's child abuse.

[Emageht Tsoluoy]

Maybe the kids were smoking meth and killing other children.

They weren't?

Oh, then what law states that children must be within X feet of a parent or guardian at all times?

There isn't such a law you say...

Well isn't that just interesting.

I hope they win their case because this is East-Germany-Thought-Patrol-Nanny-State-Commie crap happening here.

[Charge me Doctor]

I don't think that 6 years old should be roaming around big city, and 10 year old is not suitable guardian. I think it's fine for 10 years old to walk to school alone if it doesn't take more than a hour, but putting responsibility for 6 years old on him is irresponsible. Tho, police should immediately contact parents.

- - - Updated - - -

Shit, we used to play in the hills unsupervised all the time. You followed the rules. Watch out for rattle snakes, don't go past certain points, be home by a certain time, and don't talk to strangers.

Unsupervised, but in specific, probably safe, place. Your parents knew where you were playing and who were with you and gave you the rules to follow, which is, i suppose, different situation than little kids walking around big city unsupervised.

Quick reminder, i do not think that cops did wrong and parents did right. I also do not think that cops did right and parents did wrong, i think they both did wrong, cops because of detaining kids for too long and failing at contacting parents. And parents for not giving a flying fuck about where their kids are (i suppose they didn't called to local police, right? Isn't it, like, the fucking first thing you do when your kids are missing? And in this case shouldn't kids have at least the cheapest cellphone they can afford?). Yes, it's only a mile to your house, but cops don't fucking know where you live and these kids could, probably, get lost or had to go for 10 more miles to their home

[Raelbo]

I would totally agree with you that it's sensationalized, fearmongering bullshit, except for the part where government officials literally seized their children off the streets as they walked in their neighborhood.

Lucky for the kids and parents that it was government officials who "seized" these kids as opposed to someone who intended to do them harm, like say a paedophile or human traffiker. Yes, I get that there are still places in the world where such things are not a risk, but there are many other places where this is a real risk. I think the cops are totally justified in what they did. Far rather that than the possibility of having to solve a kidnapping, murder or similar.

The saddest thing about this whole episode is the parents who, rather than learn a sobering lesson about what could happen to their kids, appear to have seized the opportunity to try and make money out of the state with this ridiculous lawsuit.

[Gheld]

I grew up in a small town about 1300 people, all children where free range children.

I can't see letting children run around in a city though, too many strangers you don't know.

There's a flaw in that logic though (myself I was a "free range" child in a city of over 600,000) is that you know... you can't be in an entire city at once. At any given time I was never immediately surrounded by more traffic or people than I would have been in a small town.

[Charge me Doctor]

There's a flaw in that logic though (myself I was a "free range" child in a city of over 600,000) is that you know... you can't be in an entire city at once. At any given time I was never immediately surrounded by more traffic or people than I would have been in a small town.

i remember being taught in school that if you see someone following you or suspicious, you should go to crowded place because there is more chances that at least someone will help you. Too often more people around = it's safer to be here

[Dispraise]

I think the cops are totally justified in what they did.

Responding to the call, contacting their parents, taking them home, and ensuring their safety would all have been justified.

Lying to the children about doing any of the above, taking them into custody for no reason, locking them in a car for three hours, keeping them captive for six hours without food, not allowing them to contact their parents, not informing their parents that they're "safe" in police custody, and not releasing them to their parents until about midnight? No, absolutely not justified.

[Gheld]

When I was a kid there were only "free range kids".

The school bus was for out of district students, and we don't hang out with THOSE kids.

[Dispraise]

When I was a kid there were only "free range kids".

The school bus was for out of district students, and we don't hang out with THOSE kids.

Yep. Like a lot of kids, I had to walk a couple miles home from school each day, and then I was on my own for an hour or more before my parents got home from work.

And in all those years, I only got molested by filthy hobos twice. Kids these days are just too soft.