Officers rescue children from armed and impaired parent
Officers rescued children from a wrecked vehicle after the driver pointed a gun around the inside of the car.
Police got called to a car crashed into a pole at 27th and Cleveland just before 10 p.m. April 6. When they arrived, they saw the driver pointing a gun inside the car. She was staring blankly and appeared to be impaired. Officers also saw two children in the back seat, later determined to be ages 6 and 9. The officers immediately retreated behind their vehicle for cover. They called for additional officers and a sergeant.
No one exited the wrecked vehicle when officers asked them to. After a short period of time, one of the officers saw that the woman was no longer holding the gun. They knew they had to get the children out of the dangerous situation, so they approached the car with ballistic shields. They were able to use these to take custody of the woman without incident. Then they safely removed the children from the vehicle.
Officers found what appeared to be PCP inside the vehicle, as well as drug paraphernalia from other types of narcotics. The children told officers their mother had used drugs earlier in the day. Police also found a pistol and 64 rounds of ammunition.
The woman is in custody for investigation of child endangerment. The children were taken into protective custody by the Division of Family Services.