A 28-year-old father in Ohio allegedly left his 1-year-old child alone in his car as he went grocery shopping at a nearby Aldi.
Dazhawn Richardson was charged with one count of child endangerment following the incident, according to court records. According to an incident report, officers from the Solon Police Department responded to the parking lot of an Aldi grocery store in the 6200 block of Som Center Road around 3 p.m. on Friday, November 14. The caller had asked for a welfare check on a baby they claimed had been left unsupervised in a vehicle.
When police arrived, they found the black Mercedes automobile on the north side of the building. Approaching officers reported hearing a baby wailing and quickly located the infant, who was in a car seat in the back of the vehicle. Police used “a lock-out tool” to get into the car and called emergency medical personnel from the local fire station to “check for any medical issues with the child.”
As medics arrived, an older guy, later identified as Richardson, exited the Aldi grocery shop and informed officials that he was the child’s father.
Following the medical evaluation, the child was transferred to Richardson’s custody. Police then cited him for child endangerment.
Body camera footage released by Law&Crime shows officers approaching the car while the baby inside can be heard sobbing. The front and back windows on the passenger side of the vehicle look to be damaged by an inch.
The attending officer can be heard discussing the situation with a female witness, who is most likely the person who called 911. The witness stated that she was a mother who had been sitting in the car for some time while the baby wailed.
“The baby’s wailing. “It’s been a while,” she informed the officer.
“Yes, that’s completely unacceptable. “I mean, that is literally a baby,” the officer agrees.
When officers open the door, the infant appears to cry more loudly. An officer takes him out of the car and notices that the little boy is chilly and shaking. He went on to say that despite the fact that it was only 40 degrees outside, the car had not been started and the heat was turned off.
“The kid was literally shivering,” the first responding officer can be heard saying to one of his colleagues.
When officers approached Richardson outside the store, he stated that he did not have enough coin to acquire a grocery cart and could not hold his son and the groceries at the same time. Richardson, who appeared to be genuinely concerned, repeatedly stated that he recognized that his actions were “stupid” and may have jeopardized his son’s safety.
He claimed he attempted to bring his son into the business with him but was unable to do so. He also indicated that he had recently donated blood, and his arm was sore as a result.
Police and paramedics said they thought the youngster had been in the car for at least 15 minutes.
Richardson was permitted to board the ambulance with his son shortly after authorities informed him that Child Protective Services could be summoned. About a minute later, one of the paramedics can be heard informing officers that Richardson was crying.
Oh, he should be. Absolutely,” one of the officers says.
It was not immediately apparent when Richardson was supposed to appear in court on the child endangerment accusation.
