Horrifying bodycam footage shows the moment a Georgia mom was arrested for allowing her 10-year-old son to walk less than a mile into a small town.
Brittany Patterson, 41, was captured on police bodycam footage being handcuffed and taken into custody on October 30 after she left her son, Soren, home alone.
Police can be heard informing Patterson that she was being arrested for ‘child endangerment’ as she stood in the doorway of her family’s home.
‘And how was I recklessly endangering my child?’ she asked, before one of the officers gestured and told her to ‘turn around’.
‘We’re not talking about it,’ the officer added, before placing his hand on her arm, turning her around so she had her back to them, and putting her in handcuffs.
The footage then shows Patterson being walked toward the police cars on her driveway and put into the back with her hands still in cuffs.
Patterson was charged with reckless endangerment and taken into custody where she had her fingerprints and mugshot taken.
The mother had left her home to take one of her older children to the doctor, while Soren, who is 11 years old but was aged 10 at the time, stayed home.
Brittany Patterson, 41, was captured on police bodycam footage being handcuffed and taken into custody on October 30 after she left her son, Soren, home alone
According to the Fannin County Sheriff’s Office, Soren had wandered less than a mile into town looking to reach the local Dollar General store. The young boy was asked by a woman if he was okay while he walked down the road and, even though he said he was fine, she called the police
According to the Fannin County Sheriff’s Office, Soren had wandered less than a mile into town to reach the local Dollar General store, reported ABC News.
The young boy was asked by a woman if he was okay while he walked down the road and, even though he said he was fine, she called the police.
Authorities found him walking alone after receiving the call. He was then taken home, unharmed, before they came back hours later to arrest Patterson.
The warrant claimed that she ‘willingly and knowingly endangered her juvenile son’s bodily safety.’
In the wake of her arrest, Patterson told ABC: ‘I was shocked, surprised, disbelief, couldn’t really understand what was going on or why.
‘They told me to put my hands behind my back and then I had to ask to tell my children goodbye.’
Patterson’s community rallied around her since she was forced to post $500 bond, and donations reaching almost $54,000 poured into a GoFundMe for her legal defense.
The outraged mom vowed to fight the charges despite authorities offering to conditionally drop them.
The warrant claimed that she ‘willingly and knowingly endangered her juvenile son’s bodily safety,’ she faces up to $1,000 fine and one year in jail
In the footage, police informed Patterson that she was being arrested for ‘child endangerment’ as she stood in the doorway of her family’s home. ‘And how was I recklessly endangering my child ?’ she asked, before one of the officers gestured and told her to ‘turn around’
The day after her arrest, a case manager from the Division of Family and Children’s Services arrived at her house for a home visit and even interviewed Patterson’s oldest son at his school.
The case manager told Patterson everything seemed fine but a few days later the Division of Family and Children’s Services presented her with a ‘safety plan’ for her to sign.
It would require her to delegate a ‘safety person’ to be a ‘knowing participant and guardian’, and watch over the children whenever she leaves home.
The plan would also require Patterson to download an app on Soren’s cellphone to monitor his location – something she has refused to do.
‘I just felt like I couldn’t sign that and that in doing so, would, you know, be agreeing that there was something unsafe about my home or something unsafe about my parental decisions, and I just don’t believe that,’ she told ABC News.
‘And how was I recklessly endangering my child?’ she asked, before one of the officers gestured and told her to ‘turn around’. ‘We’re not talking about it,’ the officer added, before placing his hand on her arm, turning her around so she had her back to them, and putting her in handcuffs
‘This is not right. I did nothing wrong. I’m going to fight for that,’ she told NBC News.
Attorney David DeLugas, the head of ParentsUSA – a nonprofit that provides pro bono legal help to parents wrongly arrested and prosecuted for child neglect – has picked up her case.
‘Are all parents going to have to put GPS on their child?’ he said. ‘The parents get to decide for their children unless it is unreasonably dangerous.’
An assistant district attorney has since told DeLugas that if Patterson were to sign the safety plan, the criminal charges against her would be dropped.
But DeLugas responded by saying that if Patterson was being compelled to sign a safety plan just because her son walked somewhere without her knowing his exact location, he would be prevented from visiting friends or having any independence whatsoever.
Attorney David DeLugas said: ‘Are all parents going to have to put GPS on their child? The parents get to decide for their children unless it is unreasonably dangerous’
Still, the assistant district attorney maintained that Soren had been in danger, and therefore a safety plan was necessary.
She now faces a reckless conduct charge, a $1,000 fine and one year in jail.