Jan 8, 6:52 AM EST
Colorado Raid Angers Family
NEW CASTLE, Colo. (AP) -- An armed law enforcement team broke down the door of a family home with a battering ram and took an 11-year-old to a hospital after authorities feared he was not getting proper medical care for what turned out to be a minor head injury.
Garfield County's All Hazards Response Team raided the home Friday night, a day after Jon Shiflett fell after grabbing the handle of a moving car. Someone - possibly a neighbor - called paramedics.
Jon's father, Tom Shiflett, 62, told paramedics he didn't want them to treat Jon and asked them to leave. He told them he had served as a medic in Vietnam and he had the skill to treat his son.
Caseworkers who later visited the family reported seeing injuries that included a "huge hematoma" and a sluggish pupil. They went before a judge seeking a search warrant and order for medical treatment, citing affidavits from the ambulance crew.
Following the raid, a doctor recommended Jon be given fluids, Tylenol and ice to treat the bruises, according to a copy of the child's patient aftercare instructions.
"Inappropriate is not nearly strong enough a word. It was gross irresponsibility and stupidity," said Ross Talbott, owner of the Apple Tree Mobile Home Park south of New Castle, who rents to the Shifletts and who witnessed the raid. "Is this Russia? I don't know what we're coming to when they think your kid needs medical help and they send a SWAT team."
Garfield County Director of Social Services Lynn Rennick said her office is legally required to intervene when it receives a report about possible mistreatment of children, and that court orders are sometimes necessary. She wouldn't discuss any specific case.
The child was returned to the family at about 2:30 a.m. Saturday, hours after the raid.
"In all, there was not one shred of evidence found that we had done anything wrong or that Jon had not been properly cared for at home," said Tina Shiflett, Jon's mother.
© 2008 The Associated Press.
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/M/MEDICAL_RAID?SITE=FLTAM&SECTION=US
Colorado Raid Angers Family
NEW CASTLE, Colo. (AP) -- An armed law enforcement team broke down the door of a family home with a battering ram and took an 11-year-old to a hospital after authorities feared he was not getting proper medical care for what turned out to be a minor head injury.
Garfield County's All Hazards Response Team raided the home Friday night, a day after Jon Shiflett fell after grabbing the handle of a moving car. Someone - possibly a neighbor - called paramedics.
Jon's father, Tom Shiflett, 62, told paramedics he didn't want them to treat Jon and asked them to leave. He told them he had served as a medic in Vietnam and he had the skill to treat his son.
Caseworkers who later visited the family reported seeing injuries that included a "huge hematoma" and a sluggish pupil. They went before a judge seeking a search warrant and order for medical treatment, citing affidavits from the ambulance crew.
Following the raid, a doctor recommended Jon be given fluids, Tylenol and ice to treat the bruises, according to a copy of the child's patient aftercare instructions.
"Inappropriate is not nearly strong enough a word. It was gross irresponsibility and stupidity," said Ross Talbott, owner of the Apple Tree Mobile Home Park south of New Castle, who rents to the Shifletts and who witnessed the raid. "Is this Russia? I don't know what we're coming to when they think your kid needs medical help and they send a SWAT team."
Garfield County Director of Social Services Lynn Rennick said her office is legally required to intervene when it receives a report about possible mistreatment of children, and that court orders are sometimes necessary. She wouldn't discuss any specific case.
The child was returned to the family at about 2:30 a.m. Saturday, hours after the raid.
"In all, there was not one shred of evidence found that we had done anything wrong or that Jon had not been properly cared for at home," said Tina Shiflett, Jon's mother.
© 2008 The Associated Press.
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/M/MEDICAL_RAID?SITE=FLTAM&SECTION=US
