A girl who was visiting Houston with family friends, one of whom had documents showing legal guardianship, was taken from the guardian and placed in CPS custody for half a day despite officers being shown documents and talking by phone with the girl's mother at the scene, who confirmed the man's guardianship.
The police statement does not mention race:
But it seems unavoidable but to consider that the child being white and the two men she was with being black may have played a role, because the police statement itself seems pretty weak: there was an age discrepancy between the occupants (describes any family consisting of one or more parents traveling with one or more children in the car), the fact of the individuals being from out of state (describes any family traveling by car interstate) and the girl having no relatives in the area (describes any family traveling interstate but not to visit other family); which leaves lack-of-family-resemblance being the only logical reason for the police interest.
But even if that alone would be sufficient reason for "caution", there are other problems. For instance, what's the point of a document demonstrating legal guardianship if the police do not recognize it (or choose at will to disbelieve and ignore it)? And while the policeman's initial query to the mother over the phone of "Do you realize your daughter is in Houston, Texas with two black men?" may not have been technically out-of-order, once the mother confirmed that she was aware of her daughter's location and that the man in question was her daughter's legal guardian for the trip, the officer's remarks about what kind of parent she was were uncalled for and surely his statement to her that the men appeared to be "intoxicated or on something" when that was clearly not an actual concern at the scene was some kind of misconduct.
The police statement does not mention race:
Quote:
The Houston Police Department said in a statement that patrol officers spotted the car in front of the gas station at about 3:20 a.m. on Sunday and that the two adult men and the juvenile female were sleeping in the car. "Given the age discrepancies between all involved, the fact that all three were from out of state, and the child had no relatives in the area, officers, in an abundance of caution, did their utmost to ensure her safety," the statement said. "In this instance, that involved further investigation by CPS." |
But it seems unavoidable but to consider that the child being white and the two men she was with being black may have played a role, because the police statement itself seems pretty weak: there was an age discrepancy between the occupants (describes any family consisting of one or more parents traveling with one or more children in the car), the fact of the individuals being from out of state (describes any family traveling by car interstate) and the girl having no relatives in the area (describes any family traveling interstate but not to visit other family); which leaves lack-of-family-resemblance being the only logical reason for the police interest.
But even if that alone would be sufficient reason for "caution", there are other problems. For instance, what's the point of a document demonstrating legal guardianship if the police do not recognize it (or choose at will to disbelieve and ignore it)? And while the policeman's initial query to the mother over the phone of "Do you realize your daughter is in Houston, Texas with two black men?" may not have been technically out-of-order, once the mother confirmed that she was aware of her daughter's location and that the man in question was her daughter's legal guardian for the trip, the officer's remarks about what kind of parent she was were uncalled for and surely his statement to her that the men appeared to be "intoxicated or on something" when that was clearly not an actual concern at the scene was some kind of misconduct.
via JREF Forum http://forums.randi.org/showthread.php?t=269683&goto=newpost
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