Cop smashes washing machine window with his baton

Status
Not open for further replies.

TheeBadOne

Member
Joined
Dec 22, 2002
Messages
2,217
Location
Nemo sine vitio est
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,87756,00.html

Police Save Child Trapped in Washing Machine

POMONA, Calif. — A 2-year-old girl was rescued from a locked, running washer at a coin laundry and her mother was arrested after a surveillance tape allegedly showed her putting the child into the machine, police in California said.

An officer smashed the window of the machine with his baton to rescue the girl, who was "submerged in water," police Sgt. Matt Stone of Pomona, Calif., said.

The child was unconscious when she was pulled from the washer Saturday but breathing. She was taken to a hospital where she was listed in serious condition with cuts, scrapes, bruises. She had inhaled some water but was expected to survive, Stone said.

Her mother, Erma Osborne, 35, of Pomona, later was arrested for investigation of child endangerment and held on $10,000 bail.

Surveillance camera footage showed that the woman placed her daughter in one washer, then removed her and placed her in a second front-loading washer, which turned on when she closed the door, Stone said.

"She wasn't drowned but she was getting there," Los Angeles County fire Capt. Dan Ramirez said.

The machine apparently locks automatically when the wash cycle begins and does not unlock until the cycle ends, Ramirez said.

Efforts by the girl's mother and bystanders to unlock the door failed.
 
Humankind could be doomed - just think in your mind of the average person. I mean of average intellect, driving ability, etc and know that 50% of the population are dumber than that.
 
Did the arresting officer have the choice of charges ? What is the difference in attempted murder and child endangerment ?

This bunch of crap of Etymological Inflation is enough to barf me out. :barf: :barf: :barf:

Is a spade no longer a spade ? ? ?
 
Did the arresting officer have the choice of charges?
Probably not.

If it is anything like around here, on serious crimes patrol officers arrest the offenders, and detectives actually select the charges. Now, a quick THR member will note that it is still a police officer filing the charges, and you are correct. However, it is not at all unusual to file charges for X and have the prosecutor amend the charge to Y or take it to a grand jury and see what they decide to do with it.

One way or the other it is quite common to arrest someone one one charge and have them tried for something else. In this case, I can easily see this going up as something a weeeeeee bit more serious than child endangerment.

This is also running with the wild-arsed assumption that the media have all of the details right, which I'm not at all prepared to assume.

Mike
 
It's pathetic, but if the girl's father is alive and cares about the daughter, I'd expect to see a settlement from the washing machine manufacturer.
 
Somehow this strikes me as more likely to be incredibly stupid "horsing around" than actual "evil intent". I could be wrong, but the videotape would probably tell for sure.

That's probably what's made the difference between negligence charges and attempted murder.
 
Win, when I was a LEO, I always told my coppers that I don't care what they write down on the "charges" line, it could be "conspiracy to steal the moon." I once took a call for a newbie westside cop who didn't understand why his arrest for "Theft and Battery" had not been filed. I replied that theft + battery=element for ROBBERY a much higher felony. He seemed surprised and relieved, instead of upset.

I added, I subtracted, depending on what the evidence supported. All that matters is what's in their report and what the evidences holds. That's what matters when I file the charges as the Prosecuting Attorney.

Since I believe that CA is a gj state (we are info only), what matters is what gj thinks it is.
 
It's pathetic, but if the girl's father is alive and cares about the daughter, I'd expect to see a settlement from the washing machine manufacturer.
? Why would they sue the washing machine manuf.? I mean, I'm sure they will, but they shouldn't. It's a washing machine. Not a child seat.

- Gabe
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top