Posted on 11/15/2024 3:13:11 PM PST by nickcarraway
A Georgia mom, 41-year-old Brittany Patterson, was arrested and charged with endangering her son after her 10-year-old went for an unsupervised walk less than a mile from their home.
On October 30, while Patterson was taking one of her other sons to a medical appointment, she received a call from the Fannin County Sheriff’s Department informing her that her son, Soren, had wandered into town alone from their rural home.
In an interview with NBC, Patterson defended her decision, stating, “It’s not a super dangerous or even dangerous at all stretch of road,” and added, “I wasn’t terrified for him or scared for his safety.”
Immediately after Ms. Patterson spoke with the authorities, the deputies brought her 10-year-old son back to their home, and initially, everyone thought that was going to be the end of it. They were wrong.
A few hours after the deputy’s office dropped off Soren at the Patterson home, law enforcement officials came back to arrest the Georgia mom. She was handcuffed and arrested for suspicion of reckless conduct and forced to post a $500 bail.
Ms. Patterson told NBC News, “It was anger and frustration, of course, because my children were having to witness that all.” She added, “They asked me to put my hands behind my back and all that stuff, and I realized what was going on.”
Authorities said they would drop the charges if Ms. Patterson signed a form outlining a safety plan for her children According to Ms. Patterson and her lawyer, after the arrest, local authorities offered to drop the charges if the Georgia mom agreed to sign a form outlining a safety plan for her children, guaranteeing that they would always remain under “watchful eyes”.
The Georgia mom has refused to sign this plan and said she would contest the charges if they add up to be up to one year in jail, saying “This is not right, I did nothing wrong, I’m going to fight for that.”
Her Lawyer, David DeLuglas also questioned the charges. Mr. DeLuglas asked rhetorically if moms and dads must now know the precise location of their children at all times. He told NBC News, “Are all parents going to have to put GPS on their child?” adding, “The parents get to decide for their children unless it is unreasonably dangerous.”
Mother arrested after 10-year-old son walks into town alone (Video)
It's 10pm. Do you know where your children are?Back in the 80's they has these commercials.
I guess Georgia is becoming worse than CA.
does Georgia have some special law determining how far a 10 year old is allowed to walk unsupervised? if not it’s SUE TIME BABY!
When I was 10 we lived in Detroit. WlMy cousins and I used to walk Downtown to Tiger Stadium to the Baseball game and walk back by ourselves. One of my Cousins was 12.
Get some heat on first - file lawsuit and put ‘em on their heels.
I walked almost 2 miles home from school by myself when I was in 2nd and 3rd grade. Sometimes I even ventured off the usual route to do some sightseeing.
public school buses dont even pick up kids that close to school it is assumed they will walk when that close.
This is nuts
Me too. When I was SIX YEARS OLD I lived in Spokane WA. I used to walk about a mile once a week in the summertime to buy a Popsicle and split it with my younger sister. It cost 7 cents back then in 1952.
Aww the good old days. Was the kid not wearing a helmet and mouthguard or something. A mile was nothing where I grew up.
Me, 9 years old, getting on bike at 3PM. Mom: “Be home before dark.”
Don’t you love the new America?
This is insane. When I was 10 I was walking or riding my bike 5 to 10 miles away from home to visit friends, go to the beach, etc.
How did you keep it from melting on that walk back home by yourself...it must have been all runny?
I never told my parents about it though.
They just knew I was riding around the neighborhood somewhere, and
that I would be home before dinner or before the streetlights came on.
I remember this story here on FR from years ago...I lost my reply when I went to find the old story so I’ll cut this one short. This created a lot of controversy at the time it was posted. The children in MD were not just found a stone’s throw from home - they were seen and photographed in a busy intersection in downtown Silver Spring, MD - business establishments on all corners of the intersection...a far cry from a nearby park in their own neighborhood...A FReeper in MD and I tossed this story around for some time.
https://www.cnn.com/2015/01/20/living/feat-md-free-range-parents-under-attack/index.html
And in Fannin County! OMG!!!
Cops and DA realized they screwed up, so they want to back down and save some face.
There are cops who always act in a professional way. They are truly out there to serve and protect.
Then there are cops who look for every opportunity to bully, and throw their weight around. They go out of their way to harass the innocent.
I’m guessing the cop who arrested that mom is in that second category.
Somehow, I don’t think that him having a rifle would have gotten the Karens to leave this kid alone, though.
bttt
again, it was a 1/4 mile a few days ago. Now it’s a full mile.
The world many of you are talking about no longer exists - hasn’t for 40 years. There are predators everywhere always ready to strike - in Mayberry, Chicago, Mobile, El Cajon, everywhere.
My child was 10 years old almost 20 years ago and we never even let her walk to the pool a block away unaccompanied by her mom or me.
Anyone who allows a 10 year old to walk a mile by themselves in a country with tens of millions of actively-looking predators is playing Russian Roulette. This mom is free to raise her child how she wants but I think she’s an irresponsible idiot.
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