Anthony Leroy Green, 41, of South Carolina, was arrested in North Charleston on Tuesday after police say he endangered his young child while intoxicated at a Sunoco gas station on Patriot Boulevard and Ashley Phosphate Road. He is charged with public intoxication, public disorderly conduct, driving under suspension (third or subsequent offense), threatening the life of a public official, and unlawfully placing a child at risk.
What officers say happened
Around 9 a.m., an officer responding to the scene saw a child sitting in the front passenger seat without a proper child safety seat. When Green was contacted, the officer detected the smell of alcohol, told him he was being detained, and instructed him to stay on scene. Green tried to walk away and then attempted to get back into the driver’s seat to leave; officers stopped him and the situation became loud and confrontational.
Police say Green later moved to retrieve the child while acting aggressively, forcing officers to intervene. Additional units arrived, secured the crying child, and placed the child in a patrol vehicle, where officers cared for them until a relative arrived.
Evidence from surveillance video
Surveillance footage shows Green pulling into the station, stopping at a pump, and exiting while the child walked toward the store. He then drove away, leaving the child alone in the busy lot, and parked at another pump before returning to the middle of the lot to get the child—putting the child at risk of being struck by another vehicle.
Inside the car, officers found no child restraint seat, and a review of Green’s record showed his license is suspended due to a history of habitual traffic offenses, including a prior DUI that generated multiple active suspensions. Police also say Green continued to appear intoxicated and disorderly after his arrest, allegedly threatening officers both in the patrol vehicle and during transport to the Dorchester County Detention Center.
