The popular line being used by law enforcement these days is “if you see something, say something.”
On Wednesday morning, Sept. 18, a La Plata woman saw something she thought was amiss while escorting her 6-year-old son to a school bus stop. She reported it to police.
While the incident did not prove to be a crisis, the barrage of flak the mom is taking from some members of the community—in person and on the social network—has her distressed.
“I don’t think it’s fair,” said the mother, whose name was not released by the Charles County Sheriff’s Office. The woman told The Bay Net that some people are now saying and posting disparaging comments about her, the person of interest she reported and police.
The incident was reported to police shortly before 9 a.m. A man driving a sport utility vehicle (SUV) stopped at the bus stop while the woman’s son was waiting for his bus. The woman confronted the man in the SUV, who told her he was looking for directions. The woman told the man to leave, as the location was a private road. The man complied but returned to the area after the bus left. The woman stated that when the SUV driver saw her he made a U-turn and left the area. After receiving the woman’s report, the sheriff’s office put out an alert to the public.
“I just said he was acting suspicious,” the woman told The Bay Net. “I never accused him of trying to steal my child.”
After seeing the alerts posted on various web sites, the SUV driver contacted police and explained he really was simply looking for directions. No charges were filed against the man, whose name was not released.
“I had people showing up at my house yesterday,” said the woman. “I had some people show up at my house who weren’t very nice.”
Despite the bad behavior of some of the kibitzers who got in her face for reporting what turned out to be nothing more than an awkward moment, the woman told The Bay Net if there was a repeat situation she wouldn’t hesitate to call the police again.
Contact Marty Madden at marty.madden@thebaynet.com
