Two Florida police officers have been accused of putting their three-and-half year-old son in a prison cell as punishment for wetting himself.
The cops, who work for the Daytona Beach Shores Police Department, allegedly ‘jailed’ their toddler once on October 5, 2022, and again the following day amid potty training him.
As reported by Law & Crime, the parents, detective Sgt Jessica Long, and Lt Michael Schoenbrod, were interviewed by a state child abuse investigator for an hour and the footage has since been released to media.
In the bodycam video, the child’s mother, detective Sgt Jessica Long, denied any wrongdoing and insisted that 'it’s just people getting it twisted' before describing the probe as 'the definition of insanity'.
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Elsewhere in the footage, the boy’s father, Lt Michael Schoenbrod, tried to justify their toddler being put in the cell by sharing the events that led to that decision.
He claimed that their son’s day care requires kids to stop using nappies aged three, and after trying everything to potty train their son, they decided to put him into jail.
Schoenbrod shared: “I said you know what I do for a living. I said I’m a cop. I take bad boys to the jail that don’t follow the law. So that’s what I did.
“I said you know you aren’t following the rules, let’s go to jail.”
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Describing the cell as 'nasty', the police officer claimed he checked the space for contraband before locking up their toddler for about 13 minutes.
He said: “Had eyes on him the entire time. He was crying. I was getting the response I expected from him.”
Schoenbrod also shared that his wife, Long, had also used the tactic the day prior and put their son in the cell for about three minutes.
The cop then claimed to investigators that the extreme move worked and that his son promised not to wet himself again.
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It’s not the first time that the couple have apparently used the tactic, with Schoenbrod claiming that he put their older son in a jail cell nine years ago when he hit a girl in preschool.
It is not known who brought the couple's treatment of their son to the attention of the police but Schoenbrod said of the investigation: “It’s just disgusting that somebody would drag our family through the mud like this.”
Notably, most of the records in the case have been sealed by the county judge, while the city’s spokesperson, Tammy Marzik, explained they were 'unable to comment' on the matter at this time 'due to the court order that was issued to the city.'
While the investigation is ongoing, the couple continue to work for the force.
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