# Dumbass locks son in car, doesn't want window broken, blames police & firemen **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [January 25, 2006, 6:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumbass-locks-son-in-car-doesnt-want-window-broken-blames-police-firemen/341522 "2006-01-25T06:22:55Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2006, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumbass-locks-son-in-car-doesnt-want-window-broken-blames-police-firemen/341522/41 "2006-01-25T19:03:28Z")
She really expected the cops to take personal responsibility (not to mention liability) for her kid and BABYSIT HIM INSIDE A LOCKED CAR ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2006, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumbass-locks-son-in-car-doesnt-want-window-broken-blames-police-firemen/341522/42 "2006-01-25T19:03:34Z")
> [@Ravenman](#): > > My vote is with the cops on this one. They aren’t babysitters, and I think it was an entirely unreasonable request to have cops sit around and guard a kid while the mother runs off to return who-knows-when. The police and firemen should have their first responsibility to the safety of the child, second to the respect for property, and lastly to the convinience of the mother. One more thing that no one has mentioned. What if the cops and/or the firefighters got a real emergency call when babysitting this kid? Do they let someone’s house burn to avoid leaving the kid alone? If she had acted like **Green Bean** I’m sure she wouldn’t have been charged. The arrest I’m sure came from her acting up about her window, not the locking part. The whole affair is going to cost her a lot more than $250, so she is an idiot twice over. Good pitting. ---
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2006, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumbass-locks-son-in-car-doesnt-want-window-broken-blames-police-firemen/341522/43 "2006-01-25T19:06:15Z")
(hit “enter” by accident) –INSIDE A LOCKED CAR while she finds her way home for another set of keys? You’re the cop, OK? YOu’re standing by a car on hot day, OK? with a kid locked inside. You’re waiting there babysitting the kid while the mom runs home to get her spare set of keys? Because her window is more valuable than A) her kid’s potential safety and B) your time as a cop? How many minutes are you gonna let tick by before you go, “Screw this broad, I’m breakin’ the window”? Me? Three minutes, tops. ---
**Author:** ![World\_Eater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f04885/32.png) [@World\_Eater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/World_Eater)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2006, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumbass-locks-son-in-car-doesnt-want-window-broken-blames-police-firemen/341522/44 "2006-01-25T19:19:34Z")
I’m surprised she didn’t claim the broken glass shot in junior’s eyes and as a result he now needs a $10,000,000 seeing eye dog. ---
**Author:** ![Philster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/13edae/32.png) [@Philster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Philster)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2006, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumbass-locks-son-in-car-doesnt-want-window-broken-blames-police-firemen/341522/45 "2006-01-25T19:20:31Z")
This incident is officially filed under “Damned if you do, damned if you don’t”. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2006, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumbass-locks-son-in-car-doesnt-want-window-broken-blames-police-firemen/341522/46 "2006-01-25T19:28:10Z")
How about we go back to [the original report](http://www.pamspaulding.com/weblog/2005/07/choose-your-audis-window-or-your-kid.html)? > [@](#): > > Her son, who police said was “nonresponsive” when he was removed, spent more than 20 minutes in the car before the window was smashed open. “As soon as they told me the air conditioning was not on, that’s when I told them to break the window,” said Capt. Susan Bretthauer, who ordered the command over the radio. > > While Silverstein was gone, Bretthauer said she learned that the child had been in the car more than 15 minutes, so she ordered emergency workers to break the window. Firefighters broke open the front driver’s-side window and removed the boy…When she returned to the parking lot with the keys, Silverstein was handcuffed and placed in the back of a police cruiser. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2006, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumbass-locks-son-in-car-doesnt-want-window-broken-blames-police-firemen/341522/47 "2006-01-25T19:31:04Z")
According to the News of the Weird account, this was on a July day with temperatures in the high 80s. ---
**Author:** ![BiblioCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ed8c4c/32.png) [@BiblioCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BiblioCat)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2006, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumbass-locks-son-in-car-doesnt-want-window-broken-blames-police-firemen/341522/48 "2006-01-25T19:35:01Z")
The more I think about this, I’m betting she didn’t want her husband (or anyone else) finding out what she’d done. She probably thought she could get off with them just unlocking the door and no one would be the wiser. Now, not only is she the dumbass who locked her child in the car, but she ended up with a broken window and got arrested to boot. ---
**Author:** ![Ravenman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ravenman/32/2929_2.png) [@Ravenman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ravenman)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2006, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumbass-locks-son-in-car-doesnt-want-window-broken-blames-police-firemen/341522/49 "2006-01-25T19:36:41Z")
> [@Lute Skywatcher](#): > > How about we go back to [the original report](http://www.pamspaulding.com/weblog/2005/07/choose-your-audis-window-or-your-kid.html)? And note that this report says that the cops and firefighters tried to unlock the door by other means, but failed. The evidence that the cops acted appropriately is only growing as more facts come to light. ---
**Author:** ![Zabali\_Clawbane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/ecd19e/32.png) [@Zabali\_Clawbane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zabali_Clawbane)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2006, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumbass-locks-son-in-car-doesnt-want-window-broken-blames-police-firemen/341522/50 "2006-01-25T19:45:57Z")
To those who weren’t convinced the child was in danger, and didn’t feel there was enough cause for her to be arrested, what do you say now, knowing the child was _ **nonresponsive** _ by the time they got him out, and that he had been in the car for over 15 minutes on a day when the temperature was 89 (88 by some reports) degrees F? ---
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2006, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumbass-locks-son-in-car-doesnt-want-window-broken-blames-police-firemen/341522/51 "2006-01-25T20:04:19Z")
> [@Zabali\_Clawbane](#): > > To those who weren’t convinced the child was in danger, and didn’t feel there was enough cause for her to be arrested, what do you say now, knowing the child was _ **nonresponsive** _ by the time they got him out, and that he had been in the car for over 15 minutes on a day when the temperature was 89 (88 by some reports) degrees F? Nonresponsive? THen the emergency workers were remiss in breaking the windows sooner. She should sue: sue them for being stupid enough to let her delay them in their duty. They should be reprimanded for not breaking the glass immediately, she should be flayed with a vintage potato peeler. ---
**Author:** ![World\_Eater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f04885/32.png) [@World\_Eater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/World_Eater)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2006, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumbass-locks-son-in-car-doesnt-want-window-broken-blames-police-firemen/341522/52 "2006-01-25T20:04:29Z")
> [@BiblioCat](#): > > The more I think about this, I’m betting she didn’t want her husband (or anyone else) finding out what she’d done. She probably thought she could get off with them just unlocking the door and no one would be the wiser. Filing a lawsuit probably doesn’t help minimize the publicity either. ---
**Author:** ![Zabali\_Clawbane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/ecd19e/32.png) [@Zabali\_Clawbane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zabali_Clawbane)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2006, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumbass-locks-son-in-car-doesnt-want-window-broken-blames-police-firemen/341522/53 "2006-01-25T20:09:09Z")
> [@lissener](#): > > Nonresponsive? THen the emergency workers were remiss in breaking the windows sooner. She should sue: sue them for being stupid enough to let her delay them in their duty. They should be reprimanded for not breaking the glass immediately, she should be flayed with a vintage potato peeler. Heh, I think they are covered by the fact that as soon as the police found out that the car was turned off, and thus there was no AC going, (and that he had been in the car for over 15 minutes) they broke the windows to get the child out. ---
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2006, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumbass-locks-son-in-car-doesnt-want-window-broken-blames-police-firemen/341522/54 "2006-01-25T20:10:00Z")
> [@lissener](#): > > Nonresponsive? THen the emergency workers were remiss in breaking the windows sooner. She should sue: sue them for being stupid enough to let her delay them in their duty. They should be reprimanded for not breaking the glass immediately, she should be flayed with a vintage potato peeler. sheesh. For \*NOT \*breaking the windows sooner. ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2006, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumbass-locks-son-in-car-doesnt-want-window-broken-blames-police-firemen/341522/55 "2006-01-25T20:18:24Z")
> [@Zabali\_Clawbane](#): > > To those who weren’t convinced the child was in danger, and didn’t feel there was enough cause for her to be arrested, what do you say now, knowing the child was _ **nonresponsive** _ by the time they got him out, and that he had been in the car for over 15 minutes on a day when the temperature was 89 (88 by some reports) degrees F? I now feel, with more information, that the police were correct in their decision to break the window. I’m still not clear on what the arrest charges were for, and if they were warranted. Were they for locking her keys in her car? That seems to be an honest mistake. For being a pain in the ass? Well, she was, but the report says it was for child endangerment, not for interfering with rescue workers. For leaving the site? That’s the only thing that makes sense to me. The second link was much more informative than the OP. Thanks for posting it. ---
**Author:** ![LionelHutz405](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lionelhutz405/32/536_2.png) [@LionelHutz405](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LionelHutz405)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2006, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumbass-locks-son-in-car-doesnt-want-window-broken-blames-police-firemen/341522/56 "2006-01-25T20:18:35Z")
Funny how the original news stories made no mention of the child being non-responsive. It’s only mentioned in someone’s blog. I don’t think anyone here is arguing against breaking the window if the child is ‘non-responsive’. Whether or not that part is true is anyone’s guess, but it is difficult to believe the woman would protest the window breaking under those circumstances. ---
**Author:** ![Anne\_Neville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Anne\_Neville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anne_Neville)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2006, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumbass-locks-son-in-car-doesnt-want-window-broken-blames-police-firemen/341522/57 "2006-01-25T20:18:49Z")
> [@lissener](#): > > she should be flayed with a vintage potato peeler. And her child should be taken away to be raised by someone more caring and civilized, such as wolves. ---
**Author:** ![Zabali\_Clawbane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/ecd19e/32.png) [@Zabali\_Clawbane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zabali_Clawbane)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2006, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumbass-locks-son-in-car-doesnt-want-window-broken-blames-police-firemen/341522/58 "2006-01-25T20:28:55Z")
> [@LionelHutz405](#): > > Funny how the original news stories made no mention of the child being non-responsive. It’s only mentioned in someone’s blog. > \ The blog is discussing the event soon after it happened last summer though, and has the news copied and pasted into the entry. (It looks like the AP also covered the story, but it costs money to access their archives.) They aren’t rehashing the facts reported in the past, possibly because of the upcoming trial I would guess. (I didn’t post the link btw, that was **Lute Skywatcher** ) ---
**Author:** ![buttonjockey308](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bcef8e/32.png) [@buttonjockey308](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/buttonjockey308)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2006, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumbass-locks-son-in-car-doesnt-want-window-broken-blames-police-firemen/341522/59 "2006-01-25T20:41:03Z")
What some seem to forget is we (police and fire departments) are a largely reactionary force. If someone summons them, it’s an emergency 8 of 10 times. We react to that emergency by taking the best course of action. In most jurisdictions, when you call, for instance, the fire department because your house is on fire, you cannot stop them from putting it out. Same theory goes here. They thought the kid was in danger, the cops took appropriate steps. The kid was saved. Period. This lady is a shitheel for suing, and with any luck, she’ll spend enough time in the joint so her kids get taken, and raised by actual human beings. ---
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2006, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumbass-locks-son-in-car-doesnt-want-window-broken-blames-police-firemen/341522/60 "2006-01-25T20:44:05Z")
> [@Anne Neville](#): > > And her child should be taken away to be raised by someone more caring and civilized, such as wolves. Registered sex-offender crackwhore wolves. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumbass-locks-son-in-car-doesnt-want-window-broken-blames-police-firemen/341522.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumbass-locks-son-in-car-doesnt-want-window-broken-blames-police-firemen/341522.md?page=4)