Police took custody of a neglected child Saturday after mother is arrested
Alert Cairo Police Officers took custody of a 2-year-old boy Saturday after he was found sitting in a car surrounded by clothing and garbage.
The child’s mother had been arrested for disorderly conduct after she called police over a dispute at an address on Ninth Avenue, N.E. around 3:15 p.m. Instead of leaving the scene, as ordered by police, the mother allegedly used profanity in front of the child and was taken into custody.
Officer Michael Logue had noticed the young boy in the car’s back seat and reports that roaches were “crawling all over the garbage and around the child.” With the mother in custody, officers entered the car and allegedly found heat blowing on the child. They turned off the car and took the boy out of his car seat. The officers report it appeared the child had not been bathed recently as he was covered in dirt and sand.
Sgt. Tyron Griffin put the 2-year-old in the air conditioning of his police car until Lt. Wayne Redden could arrive. Once on scene, Lt. Redden secured the child in his car then “determined that the child was hungry and stopped to purchase a meal before taking him to the Cairo Police Department.”
Sgt. Griffin contacted a representative with the Department of Family and Children Services who said an on-call worker would call him back. When he received no return call, Sgt. Griffin called back, and the DFCS representative told him that it was fine to release the child to a family friend. She said a DFCS worker would respond the next day.
Lt. Redden spoke with the family friend who said the mother had left the child with her before many times, sometimes for seven or eight days at a time. She said the child was usually without any clothes.
Lt. Redden observed that the child had two apparent burn marks across the bridge of his nose, a scratch on his chest and possible bug bites on his back. His clothes, feet, and hair were so dirty and sandy, the officer had to vacuum out his car seat after transporting the child.
