Someone trying to find you when you have lost your child is not “false imprisonment”.
Did the store employee over react?
Did the mother (of the little girl) under react?
Did the mother (of the boy) err in not turning the little girl over to store employees?
Did the police over react when investigating and finding a mother unwilling to press charges?
Guess government trumps all. Maybe the local citizens will get to the right answer with the county sheriff (who I think I read was the arresting officers) and the local DA.
You might want to watch the video. It wasn’t a good scene.
As I saw it, the girl was about 25-30’ from the mother and the boy talked to the girl for 10 to 15 seconds and then the girl went with him.
The guy made a beeline out the door with the kid following along. The boy occasionally coaxing the girl forward. He passed a number of employees and didn’t say anything. He didn’t try to hurry. (Which one would do if they thought the mother had left the store without her daughter.)
After a few minutes, he walked back in to people looking for the child.
If I had watched the video without hearing the story, I would be 100% positive he was trying to get the child away FROM her mother.
For what reason? There have been many a time that a child has wandered away from a parent in a store, or when a parent has walked away, incorrectly assuming the child would follow, and they've lost sight of one another. It's a scary time, take it from one who knows!
The mother of the little girl acted properly, in that she didn't press charges against the young man, once the facts were all known. It's the Sheriff's Dept. that took that silly step.
I disagree. They shouldn’t charge anyone. The mother way over-reacted but if losing a child is a criminal offense, I’d still have years to serve on my sentence.