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."

[O.city]

Originally Posted by DJ's left nut

No no no no no. This is the other guy's fault. He should've known that this ****ing moron was going to grab a bunch of his drunk buddies and kick his ass.

Guy handled it poorly.

The guy's reaction after the fact paints all the portrait we need of this asshole. It isn't just the doubling down, but the going on social media and flying off. We ALL have seen a friend of a friend like this on facebook and it's always some meth-head ****ing hoosier without basic common sense.

Like I said - next time let her wander into traffic. She's just going to end up a toothless crack-whore like her parents. Best to just nip this one in the bud before she has to find out how much dick she'll need to suck for another bump.

It's this reason that I'm pro choice

[DJ's left nut]

Originally Posted by Rooster

I have never defended these white trash POS softball players or the shitty parenting.

My point being that saying that the other guy handled it 'poorly' is blame-shifting and in effect defending the other guy.

Blame is, in a real practical sense, zero sum. In any particular incident there's 100% to go around and that's all there is. Now sometimes it's just shit luck and 100% goes on God or Spaghetti monsters or butterflies in Africa. But that's not what we're working with here. We have two parties and 100% and not much in the way of good old bad luck.

I'm not comfortable putting it on the guy that tried to help and by saying 'he handled it poorly' you're doing precisely that.

[DJ's left nut]

Originally Posted by O.city

It's this reason that I'm pro choice

I believe you were in the thread where I referred to my stance here as the natural outgrowth of my ghoulish pragmatism. When it comes to government, I govern from economics only.

Look at the numbers - they don't lie. The aborted tend to come from lower socioeconomic strata and single-parent homes. The long-term prognosis for those children is pretty terrible all around (again, over large numbers). So strictly speaking, abortion is a massive economic benefit and probably keeps Democrats out of the voter pool.

So win/win. Again - ghoulish pragmatism.

[wazu]

Originally Posted by DJ's left nut

Yes. And if I just flat ****ing lose my kid and approach someone that I find with her, I'm not going to round up my buddies to kick his ass without taking some kind of temperature of the situation.

It feels like we don't have a clear picture of what happened. The dad is claiming that his daughter was being carried towards the parking lot. And his friends reported she was being led away. And this guy was at the park "with friends"? Where were they while all this was happening?

It seems odd to me that the good samaritan seems to have no interest in fighting back and has fled town. Police have cleared him and overwhelming sentiment appears to be in his favor. Hate stories like this that omit key pieces of information and follow-up.

[Al Czervik]

Originally Posted by DJ's left nut

I believe you were in the thread where I referred to my stance here as the natural outgrowth of my ghoulish pragmatism. When it comes to government, I govern from economics only.

Look at the numbers - they don't lie. The aborted tend to come from lower socioeconomic strata and single-parent homes. The long-term prognosis for those children is pretty terrible all around (again, over large numbers). So strictly speaking, abortion is a massive economic benefit and probably keeps Democrats out of the voter pool.

So win/win. Again - ghoulish pragmatism.

100% This

[O.city]

Originally Posted by DJ's left nut

I believe you were in the thread where I referred to my stance here as the natural outgrowth of my ghoulish pragmatism. When it comes to government, I govern from economics only.

Look at the numbers - they don't lie. The aborted tend to come from lower socioeconomic strata and single-parent homes. The long-term prognosis for those children is pretty terrible all around (again, over large numbers). So strictly speaking, abortion is a massive economic benefit and probably keeps Democrats out of the voter pool.

So win/win. Again - ghoulish pragmatism.

Basically yes

I was in that thread and have stated a similar stance in conversations recently. It doesn't go over well at first

[DJ's left nut]

Originally Posted by wazu

It feels like we don't have a clear picture of what happened. The dad is claiming that his daughter was being carried towards the parking lot. And his friends reported she was being led away. And this guy was at the park "with friends"? Where were they while all this was happening?

It seems odd to me that the good samaritan seems to have no interest in fighting back and has fled town. Police have cleared him and overwhelming sentiment appears to be in his favor. Hate stories like this that omit key pieces of information and follow-up.

His friends, yeah. They took part in an ass-beating so, uh, how do you think they're gonna play this one?

Meanwhile independent witnesses have confirmed that he was walking the girl around the park to different couples/men and asking her to tell him if that was her parents.

Yeah, a lot of people abduct children after walking them around to various people and trying to find out if she belongs to them. Just one hell of a long-con right there.

The dude fled town because he's an Indian (dot) in a backwoods Florida shithole where the trailer park emptied and got the mob riled up before he knew what the **** was going on. Remember that the lie makes it around the world twice before the truth has a chance to put its pants on.

[DJ's left nut]

Originally Posted by O.city

Basically yes

I was in that thread and have stated a similar stance in conversations recently. It doesn't go over well at first

Oh lord.

If at any time you find yourself in polite company and are considering making an argument that I've made.....don't. They never really go over that well.

[TimBone]

Originally Posted by Rooster

Are you a father?

Ha. I knew this was eventually coming.

Don't understand how a father can immediately start punching someone in the face when he sees them carrying his daughter? YOU MUST NOT BE A PARENT.

[O.city]

Originally Posted by DJ's left nut

Oh lord.

If at any time you find yourself in polite company and are considering making an argument that I've made.....don't. They never really go over that well.

I've always been pro choice in that I just don't give a damn about it so let them do what they want

But yes this one will turn heads. Haha

[SAUTO]

I have three daughters and a young son.

I'm a ****ing asshole and like to punch people.

No.1:I watch my kids, I don't take them with me places I plan on drinking.

No.2: I try to be sure why I punch someone BEFORE actually punching them.

Seems like the idiot father should have just said "thanks"

[T-post Tom]

Originally Posted by Rain Man

I was in the mall a couple of years back, and saw a toddler-type kid wandering around. I watched for a few minutes and was pretty sure that the kid was lost, so I did what any reasonable male would do. I kept an eye on her since she was near the exterior doors, but went and told the teenage girl at the Cinnabon to call mall security, staying at least 20 feet from the child at all times.

This is where we find ourselves today. I've had similar situations happen multiple times over the years. Fortunately I was able to enlist the aid of someone nearby each time. Once I had to pick up a toddler that was walking next to a busy street. I was able to pick him up before he stepped off the curb & into traffic. I immediately asked the lady closest to us if this was her son. After she said "no", I asked her to call 911. Not a minute later the mother came screaming at me in a rage. Everyone within earshot turned and looked at me like I was public enemy #1. Thankfully the 911 lady was still next to me & explained what happened. The mother gave us a quiet "thank you" and left down the street with her kid. Pretty sure I would not have gotten the same reaction without someone to back me up.

[Fish]

While in college, I worked IT part time for the local public school district. I spent the majority of my time at the high school. I was in the volleyball coach's office one day, taking care of a repair request, reimaging her computer. Her office was adjoining the girls locker room, with a concrete wall about 4' high and windows above that. All of a sudden, the lights come on in the locker room and a team of high school girls comes in and immediately starts undressing, oblivious to me working in the office. At first I hit the floor, thinking I would duck out the door and not be noticed. But then I panicked about being seen leaving the office like that and being accused of perving. I sat down with my back against the wall and windows to the locker room, and grabbed the phone and called the principal. That was a weird phone conversation for sure. He sent a female adjunct to the office and told me to close my eyes. LOL. The volleyball coach comes in before the adjunct gets there, and finds me sitting on the floor with my back to a locker room full of nude teen girls. It was about as uncomfortable as it sounds. They ended up having to implement new rules for the IT department because of it, that applied to doing any requests in the gym, theater, nurses office, etc. I didn't get in any trouble, but I sure could have. If I hadn't called the principal beforehand, I don't know if they would have believed me. I didn't actually see anything except underwear, but I'm not sure if the principal believed that.

[Pilsner]

This is the first time I’ve told this story:

A few months ago, I was leaving a friend’s house and I had taken a wrong turn out of his neighborhood. I was now struggling to find my way back to a road I recognized. Debating about pulling over and getting out my cellphone, I suddenly saw two children running in the berm parallel to the road, about 50 yards in front of my card. I genuinely did not believe what I was seeing, so I slowed down and squinted out the front window. It was as if these two tiny kids were reading my mind and playing on my worst fears, they decided to cross into road. From behind, I couldn’t tell how old they were, but they were very small and that had that gait that toddlers have – impeded by a diaper and with only rudimentary command over their gross motor function. These kids were sprinting towards a T-intersection about 25 feet from them with a much larger road with cars going in excess of 45mph. The fear I felt in that moment of seeing these kids doing their best lemming impression was unlike I have felt in my life.

I gassed it. Full on, stepped on my car's gas pedal and I felt the kickdown switch engage. I heard the car downshift and my car was screaming until I was about 25 feet from the kids. I stomped on the brakes as hard as I ever have in a car that I own, threw on the emergency flashers, jumped out of the car and went into a dead goddamned sprint. I met the kids about 10 feet from the ****ing intersection, picked them up, and carried them both to the sidewalk. They were both crying at this point, because they assumed some sweaty, un-athletic man was assaulting them and spoiling their fun.

I look at these two kids and see that neither one is much older than 2 or 3 years old. At this point, I’m no longer terrified but just dazed. Where the **** are these kids’ parents?!? I ask the older of the two, a little girl, where her mom is and she looked at me with hate and confusion. They’re brown, so I made a guess and tried my broken Spanish – “Donday estah Mama?” She just starts crying louder.

A middle-aged woman and her teenage son come running up and asking me if everything is all right. Apparently, they were on the other side of the road and heard my car accelerating. Before I have a chance to respond, two Mexican men come running up, clearly disturbed and scared out of their ****ing minds. At this point, what happened was a blur. I think I remember asking the little girl, “Is that your Papa?” (struggling to come up with the word padre) as I didn’t know who the **** these guys were.
The two guys said “Thank god, thank god, the garage door latch broke”. I don’t remember what I said. I walked back to my car and drove away as I was so goddamn freaked out that I didn’t have the presence of mind to ask any more questions, let alone to do anything useful. I went home and drank dark liquor before the sun set for probably the first time in my life.

Going over this in my mind, I’m extraordinarily lucky that day didn’t go much, MUCH worse for those two children and I. A few things I didn’t think about at the time: Did I just hand those kids over to complete strangers? They could’ve been rapists for all I know. I just assumed because they were the right color that they are related, but I have no way of knowing that. Should I have called the police? Again, for no reason other than the welfare of those kids. That likely WAS their dad or relative, but even if it was, who the **** locks two toddlers in a garage and then doesn’t notice when they’re gone and running head long into certain death? What the **** would have happened if that lady and her teenage son DIDN’T see the whole thing but just happened to come up to see me sweating, out of breath, kneeling next to small children that are crying and don’t want anything to do with me? I could’ve been charged for attempted abduction or some other nonsense. I left my car in the middle of the goddamn street with the hazards blinking and the driver side door open. What would’ve happened if someone would’ve wrecked into that?

I try not to think about it. My real takeaway from that day was this:
1. I need to get in better shape
2. I need to learn some more Spanish
3. People need to watch their mother****ing kids.

[TimBone]

Originally Posted by Fish

While in college, I worked IT part time for the local public school district. I spent the majority of my time at the high school. I was in the volleyball coach's office one day, taking care of a repair request, reimaging her computer. Her office was adjoining the girls locker room, with a concrete wall about 4' high and windows above that. All of a sudden, the lights come on in the locker room and a team of high school girls comes in and immediately starts undressing, oblivious to me working in the office. At first I hit the floor, thinking I would duck out the door and not be noticed. But then I panicked about being seen leaving the office like that and being accused of perving. I sat down with my back against the wall and windows to the locker room, and grabbed the phone and called the principal. That was a weird phone conversation for sure. He sent a female adjunct to the office and told me to close my eyes. LOL. The volleyball coach comes in before the adjunct gets there, and finds me sitting on the floor with my back to a locker room full of nude teen girls. It was about as uncomfortable as it sounds. They ended up having to implement new rules for the IT department because of it, that applied to doing any requests in the gym, theater, nurses office, etc. I didn't get in any trouble, but I sure could have. If I hadn't called the principal beforehand, I don't know if they would have believed me. I didn't actually see anything except underwear, but I'm not sure if the principal believed that.

You're lucky Rooster wasn't the father of one of those girls. He would have shot you.