Good Samaritan Beaten After Attempting to Help Lost Toddler Find Parents

[Pitt Gorilla]

http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/...m_npd_nn_fb_nn

A good Samaritan was mistaken for a kidnapper — and beaten by the parents — in a Florida park after trying to help a lost toddler, police said.

The 2-year-old had become separated from her folks during a softball game on Saturday at Southwest Sports Complex in Lakeland, and was spotted by a man at the park with his friends, according to a police incident report published Sunday.

Believing she was lost, the man asked the child where her parents were and walked around the premises with her in hopes she could point them out.

But when the child's father was alerted by bystanders that his daughter was being led away by a stranger, the well-intentioned act was mistaken for a kidnapping attempt.

"I saw this man with my daughter in his hands walking toward the parking lot. What would you do?" the father told NBC affiliate WFLA in a phone interview. "I wanted to kill him!"

Thinking they were stopping a crime, the father and two friends approached the stranger: As his friends took the toddler away, the father punched the good Samaritan "probably five or six times," he told WFLA.

"I thought he was trying to take my daughter," the protective dad told the station.

In a 911 call released to the media, the mother also admits to hitting the man who was with her daughter, and says she did not immediately believe that the incident was simply a misunderstanding.

Lakeland Police, on the other hand, said they were confident that the man was just trying to help the girl.

"An independent witness who didn't know the family or anybody said they saw him pointing out different males saying 'is that your father?'" Lakeland Police Sgt. Gary Gross said in an interview with WFLA.

Police also said the good Samaritan had no prior criminal history and that they were able to verify that he had been at the park with friends.

"It’s understandable how parents can possibly be upset in a situation involving a lost child. However, this incident truly involved a good Samaritan trying to assist a lost child finding their parents," the police report read.

Despite the man's innocence, several posts were published on social media defaming his character. Family and friends of the toddler posted the man's name, photo, and place of employment online, calling him a "child predator."

No charges have been filed against the parents.

When contacted by WFLA, the good Samaritan declined to comment, citing safety concerns and telling reporters he'd left town with his family.

"This guy is a father, a local businessman, has two children, was trying to help this child but they turned it completely around," Gross told the station, "And that's not right."

Still, when asked whether he believed the man's innocence, the child's father said no.

"No, hell no, I don't," he said over the phone, "Not at all."

[DJ's left nut]

Shit deal, Iowanian. Good on you for giving it your best go and better on you for taking it so hard. Shows a kind soul in the face of a tough situation.

[stevieray]

Originally Posted by Pitt Gorilla

Good on you for doing the right thing. Seriously.

"please don't quote"

[wazu]

Sorry, Iowanian. Shit that's just terrible. Thank you for your courage and action.

[Rain Man]

Sorry to hear, Iowanian. That's a terrible situation.

[Amnorix]

The guy should press assault and battery charges. JFC.

[wazu]

Originally Posted by Amnorix

The guy should press assault and battery charges. JFC.

Honestly, if someone clocked me because of a misunderstanding, but later apologized to me and publicly admitted being wrong, I'd forgive and forget. But this dude has been doubling and tripling down. Press charges. Fire back through media. Fight back!

[BWillie]

Parents are generally veey unreasonable when it comes to their children. Not surprising

[Al Czervik]

Originally Posted by DJ's left nut

Conceded. And my general rule of not looking at WHO I'm locking horns with perhaps led to more vitriol than needed (this rule generally serves me well, however).



I have a 3 yr old blonde with her mommy's curls and her daddy's attitude. I go to softball games at least 2 nights a week and for 9 oclock games she her little eyes out when she can't go to 'daddy's soccerball game'....I have no idea why she can't get that right.

I've lost my kid exactly zero times and if I did I would not turn around in a drunken stupor and beat the shit out of the guy that pulled me from the fire then publicly disparage him. This is such an easily relate-able situation for me that I have no problem at all calling this guy pretty much the pinnacle of human refuse.

I try to walk a mile before calling someone a piece of shit but I've walked several of these miles already and know damn good and well how I'd handle it. As such, I have no problem calling this guy a complete piece of shit.

Exactly....This guy is a Pile of Shit and should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. ****ing scumbag....

[RealSNR]

Let me show you all how much I ****ing love my daughter!

THAT'S how much! Want to call me a shitty dad for losing my kid? Did you just see what happened? I did it because I love my daughter and if you don't do that, you don't love your kids as much as me!!

[Simply Red]

pops must have went 0-fer

[Skyy God]

Originally Posted by DJ's left nut

There was a lawsuit a decade or so back about a maintenance worker that was driving around (I believe in England) and saw a little girl on her own. He was driving a white windowless utility van and was scared to help her because he thought people would say he was trying to abduct her.

She ended up drowning in a neighbors koi pond and he got sued for it. The local authorities pretty much said "yeah, we'd would've ended up prosecuting him for kidnapping...probably a smart move..."

He won the case outright. The goddamn mob, man. As has been noted, you cannot simultaneously be an absentee parent AND vigilante warrior. It don't work that way, kids. If you're going to essentially count on the public being your babysitter, you don't get to accuse anyone unfortunate enough to get stuck with the job of malevolent intent. And if you're going to do so, I guess you don't get to be all that surprised when your kid drowns in a landscaping pool.

Speaking of Good Samaritans, heard a really tragic story last night.

Guy's dog breaks out of his basement through a window during a storm. Apparently this happens frequently, the dog runs around the neighborhood and comes back to the backyard.

This time a (likely methed up) neighbor chick finds said dog, locks dog in her car, passes out for like 13 hours, finds dog dead of heat stroke, and nonchalantly returns dead dog.

F'ing people, man.

[Iowanian]

A lot of judgy M-fs in here.

Anyone who has had a toddler should understand just how quickly they can get away from you. You turn your head for a second and they're on their way into something.

Given the circumstances, I can't say what the father was feeling, but I can tell you I've had a child(older than a toddler) get lost by taking a wrong turn at a resort and I can tell you how worried a parent gets when you're looking for them. I can also tell you that if you're in that state of mind and the person with your child doesn't look legit, I can see how violence could occur.

I wasn't there, you weren't there...you don't know which of these people are the good guy. The dad in this case might be a complete nutball, but if you let a story like this prevent you from helping a lost or hurt kid, you have no balls in your sack.

[DaFace]

Originally Posted by Iowanian

A lot of judgy M-fs in here.

Anyone who has had a toddler should understand just how quickly they can get away from you. You turn your head for a second and they're on their way into something.

Given the circumstances, I can't say what the father was feeling, but I can tell you I've had a child(older than a toddler) get lost by taking a wrong turn at a resort and I can tell you how worried a parent gets when you're looking for them. I can also tell you that if you're in that state of mind and the person with your child doesn't look legit, I can see how violence could occur.

I wasn't there, you weren't there...you don't know which of these people are the good guy. The dad in this case might be a complete nutball, but if you let a story like this prevent you from helping a lost or hurt kid, you have no balls in your sack.

That's all well and good, but he still assaulted the guy who was trying to help, didn't apologize, posted his personal information online, and has driven him out of town with threats. We're well past the point of "unfortunate mistake in the heat of the moment."

[Iowanian]

It's florida, a gator had likely eaten his brain.