Cop leaves infant, juvenile along dark highway

'If that was me, I could have been charged with child abuse'

Posted: May 19, 2008
9:04 pm Eastern

© 2008 WorldNetDaily

A Colorado Highway Patrol officer who arrested a woman on a dog-law violation, leaving her 7-month-old daughter in the custody of a 15-year-old girl alongside a dark Colorado road shortly before midnight, has been dealt with, although officials won't describe their actions.

"If that was me, I could have been charged with child abuse," Keio Suapaia told the Grand Junction Daily Sentinel, which carried the report about the incident.

It happened when the woman was stopped for speeding, and because of a 10-year-old warrant for a dog law violation and the fact she failed to carry her driver's license with her, she was taken into custody.

With her in the car in the traffic stop shortly before midnight April 28 on U.S. Highway 50 near Whitewater, Colo., were her 7-month-old baby girl and her 15-year-old niece. The officer had called her sister to come to the area to fetch the two children.

"I thought we'd be there until another cop car or my sister got there," Suapaia told the newspaper. She recalled that the first thing she asked Trooper Jeffrey Verbas was, "Do you think it's OK to leave them there?"

But before her sister arrived, the trooper took off to haul Suapaia to jail, leaving a 25-minute gap during which the children were left alone in the vehicle, the report said.

Capt. Ed Clark of the Colorado State Patrol said the agency became aware of the situation when the family called, and "action" has been taken regarding the trooper, but he declined to elaborate since personnel sanctions are not part of the public record.

"I can guarantee you that this is not a trend or a policy of the Colorado State Patrol," Clark told the newspaper. "Our mission is to provide a safe and secure environment, which would mean an officer should stay at the scene. I would ask the public to trust that the Colorado State Patrol handled this (issue of the officer's conduct) appropriately."

Officials said the routine for such situations is for the officer to stay with the vehicle until other family members or guardians arrive, or for the officers to transport the minors to a safe location.

"There has been some learning from this situation," Clark told the newspaper.

Suapaia said she felt helpless when the officer drove her off, and while her 15-year-old niece has a driver's permit, she was scared. But the niece's mother, when she discovered the circumstances, called authorities.

"I wanted them to know that's a bad decision that he made. My daughter was scared. Once they leave, and the lights are out, it's dark out there," she said.

The officer did not respond to the newspaper's request for an interview.

On the newspaper's forum page, "jerry" suggested more than just a personnel department case for the officer.

"There is an officer that should be charged with child abuse!" he wrote.

"What is happening to the very ones that are supposed to be PROTECTING our children and preventing child abuse not causing it?" added another forum participant. "I agree, the officer is human and makes mistakes, BUT, as an officer he is supposed to be trained in every situation to NOT make mistakes on the job, right?"

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