Shannon Benoit of Massachusetts said her five-year-old daughter burst into tears when overzealous policemen showed up at the front door demanding the return of two overdue library books, UPI has reported.
A police sergeant intimidated the girl, who had only recently learned to read, by insisting that she either pay for the late library books or return them.
"I thought it was way overboard," Benoit said. "I closed my door, I looked at my daughter and she started crying."
She said her daughter asked if the police were going to arrest her.
The pint-sized criminal was distressed by the heavy-handed action of the police, who later expressed that they were uncomfortable with the orders which had been handed down to them.
"Nobody wanted to, on this end, to get involved in it," Sergeant Dowd said. "But the library contacted us, and the chief delegated, and apparently I was one of the low men on the totem pole."
Benoit said she located and returned the books.
Fortunately, the five-year-old escaped doing hard time, although her mom may have a hard time convincing her that reading is still fun. We wonder, does she regret allowing picture books tempt her from the path of righteousness?
Do you think the cops exceeded necessary measures in retrieving the missing volumes?
A police sergeant intimidated the girl, who had only recently learned to read, by insisting that she either pay for the late library books or return them.
"I thought it was way overboard," Benoit said. "I closed my door, I looked at my daughter and she started crying."
She said her daughter asked if the police were going to arrest her.
The pint-sized criminal was distressed by the heavy-handed action of the police, who later expressed that they were uncomfortable with the orders which had been handed down to them.
"Nobody wanted to, on this end, to get involved in it," Sergeant Dowd said. "But the library contacted us, and the chief delegated, and apparently I was one of the low men on the totem pole."
Benoit said she located and returned the books.
Fortunately, the five-year-old escaped doing hard time, although her mom may have a hard time convincing her that reading is still fun. We wonder, does she regret allowing picture books tempt her from the path of righteousness?
Do you think the cops exceeded necessary measures in retrieving the missing volumes?