A police officer has been charged with child neglect after being accused of making his six-year-old daughter stand in the snow while holding a degrading sign.
Cody Scott, a police officer from Indiana and his wife, Kylie, were arrested after a member of the public rang 911 on January 19 reporting there was a child out in the cold holding a sign for hours.
According to court documents, the sign read: "I want to stab and kill my brother. I even take an antipsychotic. If you need to give pity, then give it to the victims."
Allegedly, the child was punished for acting out during church and Sunday school over a misunderstanding about make-up, with the pair accused of making her stand outside in 18 degrees Fahrenheit weather.
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Both parents have been charged with two counts of felony neglect of a child.
The documents revealed that Indiana State Police arrived at the scene with Mr Scott, who worked at the Logansport Police Department, as well as his supervisor.
Police allege that he had made his daughter, who suffers from additional needs, stand for 30 minutes at a time with 10-minute breaks inside so that she could warm up.
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The affidavit accuses Mr Scott and his partner of making their daughter carry signs in multiple places, with one allegedly reading: "I pee on everything and cover it up like a cat."
Another sign she was allegedly made to walk around Walmart with said: "I lie to hurt people."
On the day the child was standing in the snow, a member of the public confronted Mr Scott, to which he allegedly responded: "Well, sir, aside from me cruelly beating her physically, I’ve not done any other punishment that’s worked for her.
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"She’s threatened to kill my family, she wants to embarrass us, she wants to urinate on herself and destroy things in the house. I have a DCS caseworker involved, she’s been in therapy for three years, she also has the wrap around program at school. She goes in every 30 minutes to warm back up, she’s bundled up very warm and then she’ll come back out.”
Court records show that the child has a documented history of behavioural problems reported by the parents, which claims she would ‘act out’ or display ‘attention-seeking behaviour’.
The Indiana State Police investigator who wrote the affidavit claimed the punishment was ‘disproportionate to the offense and unnecessarily degrading.’
Mr Scott is now on unpaid administrative leave from the force and both parents were book edinto the Cass County Jail after turning themselves in and released on bond.
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Mrs Scott will appear in court on May 22 and Mr Scott will appear on May 8 ahead of a September trial. Both have pleaded not guilty to the charges.
UNILAD reached out to Logansport Police Department for comment.
Britt Jones