Posted on 03/20/2013 5:54:04 AM PDT by T.O.K.
An innocent photograph posted on Facebook of a beaming, spectacled boy proudly displaying a birthday present from his father prompted a police raid befitting an al-Qaida terrorist.
New Jersey resident Shawn Moore, a National Rifle Association firearms instructor, range safety officer and New Jersey hunter education instructor, gave his son a .22-caliber rifle for his 11th birthday.
(Excerpt) Read more at bizpacreview.com ...
While this was abusive, it’s also important to understand the greater context, that of Child Protective Services, in any state.
On one hand, if children are abused or even killed, and they knew something of it, the CPS will get raked over the coals. But, as in this case, if they enter a family situation where abuse is *not* taking place, it is even more brutal on them.
Importantly, this is true in every single state in the union. There *is* no easy or blanket resolution for it either, because each case is unique.
So, what happens is that CPS becomes “complaint driven”. If someone complains to them, they *have* to do something. And if it is a “cold call” on people known to be armed, the CPS will certainly bring cops with them.
In this case, some idiot freaked out because he saw a picture of a boy with a gun. Not surprising, because such fools freak out when children hold their fingers like a gun, or make a vaguely gun-like shape while nibbling on a Pop-Tart.
So perhaps the real failure here was with the police, who automatically backed the CPS person without first checking to see *why* the CPS was investigating. But the police sure as donuts do not want to be blamed if the CPS wants to investigate, but they determine that there is no reason for the CPS to investigate.
So it’s just easier for the police to play along.
However, in this case, they clearly overstepped their authority, which the police most certainly can be blamed for. They could have told the CPS employee that “We can do this up to this point, but no further, without a warrant.”
Which would put the situation back squarely on the CPS.
Probably the best outcome would be for the CPS to have their own in house criminal lawyer, to advise them of what they can and cannot do, as well as what the police can and cannot do.
I recommend this, because it applied in this situation, but with the parent’s lawyer. The end result was the same. The CPS nor the police broke the rules, even though they wanted to, and asked permission to.
Since this will likely not happen soon, if someone has children, it is probably a great idea to have their lawyer available by speed dial.
I haven’t looked at the law for years but the last I checked there was no such thing as a false report as far as the law was concerned.
The best you could hope for was “report unsubstantiated” or unproven.
Once an accusation is made against you it is forever in child services report and can not be expunged and you will never know who made it.
A friend of mine went through this and even though the investigators never found any evidence that he had ever harmed his kids in anyway he could never find out who accused him or why. He was investigated twice.
Public "servants" like that sound like good candidates for the ol' triple S- shoot, shovel and shut up.
Can we all agree that a report of the existence of a picture of a smiling child holding a rifle is NOT a "report of child abuse"?
Let us agree that a picture of a smiling child holding a rifle is not evidence of an abused child.
A report of an abused child can be any person filing a report stating that they believe child X is being abused by adult Y. That is literally all that is required.
too many witnesses....
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