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I, as a citizen, am concerned about the well being,and protection, of our children, elderly, mentally and/ or physically challenged people during the hotter months. As the law stands there is no protection for them or the good samaritan that may try to help.Temperatures with in a car rises 19 degrees every 9 minutes. High body temperature can cause heat exhaustion, convulsions and even death.
Here in the small community that I live in, the police force, the judges, the prosecutors, or the lawyers, do not take leaving a child in a hot car seriously. I feel they may not have been properly educated. As I will explain in a story below.
A hot locked car was occupied with a 3 year old boy locked in it. His mother was no where insight.The child was pale and face turned into the seat. I tried making vent holes in the window for air circulation. The front windshield is where I decided, so that there would be no shatter from the side windows.
Well, when the police arrived: I was pepper sprayed, put in the back of a hot cop car, taken out of the car with handcuffs behind my back, washed with a gas powered pressure washer, taken to jail, washed again but this time with scalding hot water. I was then charged with resisting arrest , child endangerment, and criminal mischeif. I was set free at 2:30 in the morning with my shorts and jr.top on to walk home.
I am a LPN of 22 years and an Occupational Thetapy Assistant for 3 years. I was embarrassed.My picture on the cop page..questioning why..but yes, I would still have done the same thing.
