A Canadian man was arrested, handcuffed, strip-searched, and jailed for illegal possession of a firearm as he picked up his children from school, all because his four-year-old girl drew a picture of a gun in class.
“I’m picking up my kids and then, next thing you know, I’m locked up,” the man said. “I was in shock. This is completely insane. My daughter drew a gun on a piece of paper at school.”
Child welfare officials said concern was warranted. “From a public safety point of view, any child drawing a picture of guns and saying there’s guns in a home would warrant some further conversation with the parents and child,” said Alison Scott, executive director of Family and Children’s Services. But police said they were told by school officials “a firearm was in a residence and children had access to it. We had every concern, based on this information, that children were in danger.”
Police also searched the family home and found nothing. A few hours later, the father was released.
Source: Dianne Wood, “Man shocked by arrest after daughter draws picture of gun at school,” Kitchener Record, February 24, 2012 h/t overlawyered.com
Maureen Martin, a former legal fellow at The Heartland Institute, passed away on February 5, 2013.
