One minute, Susan Mortensen is watching her 4-year-old daughter make lovely chalk drawings on rocks in a park. The next, she is in court getting sentenced to 50 hours of community service for vandalism. Oh the joys of parenting.
She had no idea her pint-size Picasso was committing a crime when Officer Stacy Rogers came over to confront them. Now the Richmond, Virginia mom must paint about 200 outdoor posts as her debt to society.
Now generally, I think parents are partly responsible for their children's bad behavior. Constant hitting, fighting, cursing, stealing, and things of that nature are often signs something is going on at home. But this situation is ridiculous. Chalk drawings SHOULD NOT be a crime. I would have let my child do it too. It's not spray paint. It's not even crayon. It will easily wash away.
However, according to Officer Rogers the little girl was "destroying" property. Apparently any drawing is considered graffiti, whether it's a gang sign or sunflowers. "It is all the same thing," said Ralph White, a park manager. "A couple of weeks ago, I was covering over pornographic drawings done in chalk. It doesn't matter what the medium is. It's offensive." Is it really? That logic sounds completely asinine to me.
I should mention that the cop complained that during the reprimand, Mortensen responded with "attitude and curse words." I can't blame this mom for her reaction, though. I would have been pissed off too. Don't they have real crimes to fight? I am sure there are plenty of other parents out there who need to be punished -- like the child batterers or those who use their kids to shoplift. Now those are crimes. These cops must be incredibly bored to go after a mom for her toddler’s chalk drawings. Talk about a waste of the court’s time and the taxpayers' dime.
Do you think this mom deserved to be punished?
Images via Horia Varlan/Flickr
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Comments 126
Seriously this is all bullshit.
I could understand if it was a teenager drawing crude images or something but if a toddler is just drawing what is the big deal? And to all of you airheads saying that "she deserves it for being rude" or "if she would have been nice she wouldn't have to worry about this" that is complete shit too because cops these are very rude,obnoxious and full of themselves. A family friend of mine was pushed down the stairs by a cop because she wouldn't leave her nieces house when all she wanted to do was talk to her.
Cops think they are so special because they have authority but in all truth anyone would have given this cop a fucking attitude! Don't act like you wouldn't. It is absolutley apauling we have more important things to to worry about like psychos shooting places up! Not an innocent child drawing on pavement..>.>
I think it's a sad statement of society when a) innocent chalk drawings by a 4 year old are a crime b) that a mother is charged and sentenced to community service and c) that people are actually defending this asinine "law." And the fact that people are saying that the community service came in to play after she mouthed off to the cop, I want to know, is that what she was charged with or was she charged with vandalism?
By "covering" up the pornographic drawings done in chalk, does that mean he just washed it away? Good grief. This mother should have been required to wash it away with a bucket of water and be done with it. To waste tax dollars on something as stupid as this is just ridiculous.
Common sense and human decency are long gone. I'm speaking about the cop here. And the park manager. I wonder if she feels super special after busting the 4 year old drawing with chalk, ridding the streets of such a horrible criminal. Watch out! The kid will draw a heart on the rocks at the park. Cop of the year, I tell ya.
What a bitch and a disgrace to the decent police out there.
i would have got a cup of water and washed it off!!! lol!!! and then told the cop there you go i did some community service!!!! but im a hot head like that!!! no i dont think she deserved it but sometimes cops need to show that they wont stand to be disrespected no matter how ridiculus the crime is
It's was probably more of the bad attitude and curse words that got her the 50 hours of community service. A lot of people don't know you can't use chalk in public areas. I didn't know until recently. I let my daughter play with it in front of our house and even though I rinsed it off immediately I was told next time they would call the police for destruction of property. I understand this woman frustration because although I told the manger I will clean it up she continued to have major attitude. If I known it was a really big deal I wouldn't have done it but I did it as a child and was trying to pass on the fun.
Also if I may point out children don't have any place to play anymore. There are so many rules and regulations I'm not sure if it's okay for my daughter to ride her bike, play hopscotch or jump rope. You can't even go to the park now to play because it seems like there is so many restriction. This is the reason, in my opinion, why so many kids stay locked up in the house watching t.v. and playing video games.