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Julieboo
Member
02-05-2002
| Wednesday, March 12, 2008 - 7:02 am
Mom goes to trial for briefly leaving child in car Associated Press Treffly Coyne was out of her car for just minutes and no more than 10 yards away. But that was long and far enough to land her in court after a police officer spotted her sleeping 2-year-old daughter alone in the vehicle; Coyne had taken her two older daughters to pour $8.29 in coins into a Salvation Army kettle. Minutes later, she was under arrest -- the focus of both a police investigation and a probe by the state's child welfare agency. Now the case that has become an Internet flash point for people who either blast police for overstepping their authority or Coyne for putting a child in danger. The 36-year-old suburban mother is preparing to go on trial Thursday on misdemeanor charges of child endangerment and obstructing a peace officer. If convicted, she could be sentenced to a year in jail and fined $2,500, even though child welfare workers found no credible evidence of abuse or neglect. On Dec. 8 Coyne decided to drive to Wal-Mart in the Chicago suburb of Crestwood so her children and a young friend could donate the coins they'd collected at her husband's office. Even as she buckled 2-year-old Phoebe into the car, the girl was asleep. When Coyne arrived at the store, she found a spot to park in a loading zone, right behind someone tying a Christmas tree onto a car. "It's sleeting out, it's not pleasant, I don't want to disturb her, wake her up," Coyne said this week. "It was safer to leave her in the safety and warmth of an alarmed car than take her." So Coyne switched on the emergency flashers, locked the car, activated the alarm and walked the other children to the bell ringer. She snapped a few pictures of the girls donating money and headed back to the car. But a community service officer blocked her way. "She was on a tirade, she was yelling at me," Coyne said. The officer, Coyne said, didn't want to hear about how close Coyne was, how she never set foot inside the store and was just there to let the kids donate money, or how she could always see her car. Coyne telephoned her husband, Tim Janecyk, who advised her not to say anything else to police until he arrived. So Coyne declined to talk further, refusing even to tell police her child's name. When Janecyk pulled up, his wife already was handcuffed, sitting in a patrol car. Crestwood Police Chief Timothy Sulikowski declined to comment about the case. But he did not dispute the contention that Coyne parked nearby or was away from her car for just a few minutes. He did, however, suggest Coyne put her child at risk. "A minute or two, that's when things can happen," he said. Talk about the case has intensified, particularly online, where bloggers are weighing in on various message boards. Many have harsh words for the police department, calling the arrest of a mother who left her child in a locked car for a few minutes an abuse of authority. Yet statistics show thousands of children are injured and dozens die every year after being left unattended near or inside vehicles. "I am talking tens of thousands of people who leave their kids in the car for any period of time all around America," said Janette Fennell, founder and president of Kansas-based Kids and Cars. "People don't appreciate the dangers of leaving a child alone in the car." Coyne's attorney, Michelle Forbes, argued that Coyne did not break the law any more than a mother who parks in front of a school in a rainstorm and leaves an infant in the car as she runs a few feet to pick up another child. "As long as the car is not out of her sight, then the child is not unattended," she said. Coyne and her husband believe she is unfairly being lumped in with parents who put their children's lives at risk. "If I were going on a shopping spree then, yes, I would deserve arrest," Coyne said. "I was standing right there. I never went into the store. "I'm a great parent." (This is from today's Daily Herald) http://www.dailyherald.com/story/?id=151970&src=109
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Rissa
Member
03-20-2006
| Wednesday, March 12, 2008 - 7:22 am
I think it is a slippery slope if this woman is prosecuted. I have pulled up in front of a mail box, jumped out.. grabbed the mail while leaving a child in the car. If the postal worker is still there, I might have to wait a minute or two until she is done. I am less then ten feet from the car... will the police count inches? If the car is in sight then it's ok? How about if you are in Saskatchewan and the car is a mile away but still in sight? Does the age of the child count? I would argue that leaving an infant in a child seat if safer then leaving a 7 yr old in a seatbelt (the 7 yr old can get to the car's controls). If the car was locked and kept in close proximity (10 yds as the woman claims) then I would not go after her. I will say that leaving the car running is not a good decision and if its so cold that having the car off for those few moments would make a difference then she should have taken the child with her. But I would explain the risk to her and then drop it. This is not a situation where she went into the store for an extended period.
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Beckie03
Member
07-05-2007
| Wednesday, March 12, 2008 - 7:43 am
If she had the car in her sight, the alarm was on, no harm, no foul. this just needs to be thrown out. i think officers try to make examples of people and end up looking like idiots themselves. ITA with Rissa, the car running wasn't a good idea. however, i can understand where she's coming from. on the other hand, i never leave my car running if i get out of it...you just never know.
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Escapee
Member
06-15-2004
| Wednesday, March 12, 2008 - 8:01 am
OK, do we all remember the story about how I LOCKED my 1 year old in the car in JULY, and the police and fire department came? She was in there for an hour and I didn't get arrested. The car was running, the air conditioner was on and she was sound asleep, but still.....the cops thought it was funny, the firemen sat down on the law in the shade while DH got a coat hanger and got the car door open. Wow, I probably would have went to prison!!!
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Denecee
Member
09-05-2002
| Wednesday, March 12, 2008 - 8:18 am
What is wrong with the world? I am so irritated with the officer, where is the common sense? Why oh why are we wasting money on incompetency? I hope the judge at least will have some common sense in this case!
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Jimmer
Moderator
08-30-2000
| Wednesday, March 12, 2008 - 9:00 am
I don't like saying this but I think sometimes they focus on easy targets rather than going after clear abusers. You hear too often about children suffering repeated horrific abuse where the system has failed them miserably and then you hear about these cases. This is beyond belief.
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Dahli
Member
11-27-2000
| Wednesday, March 12, 2008 - 9:03 am
LOL Rissa! I live in SK and that's a very good point... Now regarding this case? wow, just wow. This is utter crap.
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Rissa
Member
03-20-2006
| Wednesday, March 12, 2008 - 9:04 am
Just to throw this out there. I betcha we can figure out what happened. The officer started off with great intentions. He saw a baby in a car that was running with no adult in attendance, the mother comes back but from where? Officer doesn't know and is outraged, rightly. When the mom explains, officer declines to back down. Once both parties get defensive.. common sense and compromise goes out the window.
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Maris
Member
03-28-2002
| Wednesday, March 12, 2008 - 9:07 am
and if her car was stolen with that two year old sleeping? what would people say??? she would say, I only left him for a minute........... You can bet she wont do that again and there might be more mothers out there who will rethink that quick hop out of the car with this out there. Mother should cop a plea, do community service and admit her mistake
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Babyruth
Member
07-19-2001
| Wednesday, March 12, 2008 - 9:15 am
It's hard to form an opinion when you only read one side of the story. But if things happened the way she reported them, I think the cop was too rigid. A warning should have sufficed.
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Wargod
Moderator
07-16-2001
| Wednesday, March 12, 2008 - 9:20 am
I agree Maris. In Ca, it's illegal to leave children alone in a car (I think under the age of 5, but could be wrong on that) and for good reason I think. Every year we have kids hurt or die after being left in a car during hot months. Mom may have been out of the car just a minute or two with it in plain sight but anything at all could have happened in that short time with the baby alone in it. Having said that, arresting her and sending her to jail seems a bit harsh if thats the first time she's ever had any legal trouble, though I don't know what the laws are there.
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Escapee
Member
06-15-2004
| Wednesday, March 12, 2008 - 9:25 am
Ok, just thinking through this.... If she was just putting change in a can a step or two away.... She didn't notice a police officer nearby? She was gone long enough that the officer didn't notice her get out of her car and walk away? If her car was in clear sight the entire time, and was seriously just a step or two away, wouldn't she have seen the officer coming? Also, if she was just stepping away, why not shut the car off if you don't plan on being gone long enough for it to get super cold in there? I can see the officers side, but still think it was too harsh. I think there maybe more to this story.
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Heyltslori
Moderator
09-15-2001
| Wednesday, March 12, 2008 - 9:25 am
I don't think that the mom should be prosecuted if things happened the way she said. That said, I don't find any fault in what the police officer did. The officer had no idea where the mother was, and could not be positive that her story was true. For that matter, 10 yards away is pretty far! A lot could happen in the time the mom was taking pictures (not watching the car?) from that distance. It's always better to be safe than sorry in my book.
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Hukdonreality
Member
09-29-2003
| Wednesday, March 12, 2008 - 10:14 am
The mother said it was raining, and that's the reason she didn't take the child out of the car. Suppose someone rammed the back of the car because they couldn't stop on the slick parking lot surface, and that child was injured badly or killed? You can bet that mother would be suing and wanting that other driver put away. You can't have it both ways. Maybe the officer was harsh and maybe unreasonable. But I suppose the law is the law for many reasons, not just the possiblity of kidnapping. I'm with Maris, do some community service or something and thank your lucky stars that nothing worse happened to the child.
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Jimmer
Moderator
08-30-2000
| Wednesday, March 12, 2008 - 10:41 am
I guess no one ever goes into another part of the house and leaves their baby sleeping? Suppose someone rammed the back of the car? Well that would happen regardless of whether the Mom was sitting in the car or not.
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Merrysea
Moderator
08-13-2004
| Wednesday, March 12, 2008 - 11:11 am
I think that since it says child welfare workers found no evidence of abuse or neglect, the case should be dropped. It's a waste of taxpayer's money to prosecute this woman. I doubt she'll ever leave her baby alone again.
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Julieboo
Member
02-05-2002
| Wednesday, March 12, 2008 - 11:18 am
I don't get it really. Guess it goes to show that no good deed goes unpunished. If the woman was really that close to her locked car for such a short time, then I think it is really going overboard. I could understand the hullabaloo if the woman actually went in the store and truly left her child unattended. So many of these tragic stories are when kids are left in a hot car for long periods of time. Why isn't the time, money and effort spent investigating some real child abuse?
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Mamie316
Member
07-08-2003
| Wednesday, March 12, 2008 - 11:18 am
I agree, Merrysea.
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Mocha
Member
08-12-2001
| Wednesday, March 12, 2008 - 11:27 am
I think a fine or ticket would've been sufficient.
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Brenda1966
Member
07-03-2002
| Wednesday, March 12, 2008 - 11:44 am
This sounds like a rent-a-cop going on a power trip to me. Completely rediculous. She was near the car. The car was locked. Now, if she left the car running, in our state you can get a ticket for that, and that's fine with me. You should never leave your car running unless you are sitting behind the wheel! But from the story, I can't tell if the car was running, or if it was merely "warm" because it's dry and not windy in there. Seems to me there are people really putting kids at risk, riding around in cars without seat belts, being left home alone, being beaten. Let's spend our time and money throwing the book at them.
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Denecee
Member
09-05-2002
| Wednesday, March 12, 2008 - 3:58 pm
I agree Brenda. WTH! I'm sorry but we don't need officers to this kind of ticket giving. Now about that lady who used the car wash sprayer on her 2 and half year old daughter because the toddler was throwing a fit. Excuse me? Isn't that going to make the toddler throw an even bigger fit? I tell you what, if I witnessed this sort of thing, I would pull into the car wash with my horn blaring, get out of my car while dialing 911 and I would let the lady know that I am calling the police. I would also tell her a few things while waiting for the police to show up. I would tell her that she needs parenting classes right now. I would tell her that she is a big bully. Argh!
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Ladytex
Member
09-27-2001
| Thursday, March 13, 2008 - 5:59 am
Charges Dropped for Mom who left child in car http://www.suntimes.com/news/metro/839947,mom031308.article
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Julieboo
Member
02-05-2002
| Thursday, March 13, 2008 - 6:38 am
Thanks Ladytex. Glad to read that.
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Ophiliasgrandma
Member
09-04-2001
| Thursday, March 13, 2008 - 6:50 am
Whew! Finally someone had the good sense to see that she did nothing wrong.
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Mameblanche
Member
08-24-2002
| Thursday, March 13, 2008 - 10:56 am
If she could see her baby in the car at all times and was only a few feet away, (sprinting distance), I don't see a problem. But I do have a serious problem with people who leave kids and animals in closed cars during heatwaves while they go on shopping sprees, or drinking, gambling, etc!
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Seamonkey
Moderator
09-07-2000
| Friday, March 14, 2008 - 12:32 pm
The car could have been hit WITH the mother in the car.. (oh, I see Jimmer mentioned that already) and good point.. with the size of some newer homes in our area, kids can be much more isolated thatn a few yards away in a car. The fact is that there are risks involved in living and no matter what you do, you cannot guarantee safety. Heck if she had dragged the baby out into the rain, she'd have had to pay less attention to the other children and that errant car could have crashed into them outside the car, or whatever. Of course the officer should have looked into it, but it was taken way too far. I'm happy to hear that it was resolved, but I imagine that for the older children and their friend, it was traumatic to see mom handcuffed and put in a police cruiser.
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