[wideawake]

Clearly Ratte is an outlier of a case.

However, once you have a report of a seven year old publicly consuming an alcoholic beverage, it has to be investigated.

And once it is investigated, it has to be referred to child's services.

The officer on the scene, the supervisor and the child services worker doesn't know Ratte from Adam, and has no clue whether or not this represents a pattern of behavior or an anomaly.

They knew if they ignored it and Ratte's son turned up in an alcoholic coma a few weeks later, they would be raked over the coals and people would be calling for their blood.

Every system that allows such workers discretion is eliminated once that discretion leads to a mistake or two.

[ClearCase_guy]

I think you’ve got it exactly right. It’s a real shame.

[absolootezer0]

investigation is one thing, child abduction is something different.

[ktscarlett66]

I agree. The headline should read ‘Over an alcoholic drink’ since it wasn’t just lemonade. I’d probably be appalled too, if I saw a young kid drinking an alcoholic drink like that. What would anyone do in the case of a kid openly drinking booze? What if it were beer? No one here would get upset, say something to the parents, call someone? I truly believe it was an honest mistake but still needed to be investigated.

I’ve never had a Mike’s Hard Lemonade and I’ve never seen an ad for it anywhere, but I do know that it’s alcohol, just like hard cider is or that hard sauce is made with rum or brandy. And I know that from *ta da* history books! You’d think Dad would have known that too.

[Son House]

Once while getting my muffler fixed I meet the guy who started Mike’s Hard Lemonade, he was preoccupied with his lap top mostly, seemed kinda of a stuffy, smarter than thou type, but I did get in a truth of alcohol, no matter what color, flavor or carbonated, it’s still just poison to the body.

[latina4dubya]

However, once you have a report of a seven year old publicly consuming an alcoholic beverage, it has to be investigated.

this is what makes it seem like an accident... that the child was consuming it publicly...

[AndyJackson]

Clearly Ratte is an outlier of a case....However, once you have a report of a seven year old publicly consuming an alcoholic beverage, it has to be investigated. And once it is investigated, it has to be referred to child's services.

Do you actually AGREE with this complete and utter idiocy and breakdown of the normal social order??

What is an outlier is the lack of any thinking human being in charge, from the cop on the beat on up.