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cubby

Live Long and Prosper
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https://www.washingtonpost.com/news...redator-and-fled-town/?utm_term=.44a3690ec905

A man trying to help a lost toddler find her parents was misidentified as a kidnapper on social media over the weekend, according to police in Lakeland, Fla., prompting him to leave town in fear for his safety and the safety of his family.

The man was also punched by the child’s father who told local media that he “thought he was trying to take my daughter” and “wanted to kill him.”

The whole episode prompted the Lakeland Police Department to warn citizens to “be careful about what you post on social media so as not to victimize an innocent person … Before posting information on matters such as this, we encourage people to identify the source and the validity of such claims before sharing them.”

Lakeland police, in a Facebook post, said the falsely accused man was visiting friends at a softball game when he noticed at a 2-year-old had gotten separated from her parents. She was “wandering by herself,” police said, and the man “believed that she was lost.

“The citizen attempted to ask the girl where her parents were and walked with her in hopes she could point them out,” the statement said, a fact verified by at least one independent witness.

At that point, “bystanders” told the parents that the man was “attempting to kidnap the child,” said police.

As the two were nearing the playground, three men approached them from behind, Patch reported. One man grabbed the girl and the other man, who is the child’s father, punched the man five or six times.

“I thought he was trying to take my daughter,” the girl’s father told News Channel 8.

“I saw this man with my daughter in his hands walking toward the parking lot. What would you do?” the father asked. “I wanted to kill him.”

The father told The Washington Post that it all happened very quickly, “within 45 seconds.”

The investigating officer noted the victim’s face had several cuts and was swollen.

Police concluded that the man was only trying to help. “We had an independent eyewitness that saw him walking around, asking, ‘Is this your parents? Is that your father?’” Sgt. Gary Gross with the Lakeland Police Department told Fox 13 News.

According to police the young girl tried to pull away but the man was concerned for her safety and picked her up and continued walking toward the playground, “hoping that he would be able to locate the child’s father.”

The father and his friends were not satisfied with the man’s explanation or that of the police. “So, I guess in Lakeland, you can kidnap a child and get away with it,” the father said to police, local media reported. The police report, local media said, described the father as “increasingly agitated.”

According to WFLA, other media outlets and police, family members and friends went on social media and shared the man’s photo, his Facebook page and his place of business, “calling him a child predator,” WFLA said.

Police, however, called him a “good Samaritan” in their statement. “It is understandable how parents can possibly be upset in a situation involving a lost child,” the statement said. “However, this incident truly involved a good Samaritan trying to assist a lost child finding” her parents.

“Accounts of this incident have circulated on social media with false information and speculation. Posting false information on Facebook could cause a defamation of character claim and those posting false information could be held libel.”

The good Samaritan told several local outlets that he has now left town with his family for their safety. He says he will not press charges against the father.

The father made no apologies for his actions but told The Post, “All that matters is that my daughter is home safely.”

He couldn't have walked around with a child long enough to have asked several people who her parents were if her parents were watching her.
 
And this is why, as a guy, as much as I hate the idea, will probably never help a lost kid. Just my luck some fucking dipshit that isn't aware of what's going on will take it completely out of context.

It's a sad world when people are more afraid of idiots then a child wandering into traffic.
 
Yes, it's fairly obvious they weren't watching her and that's probably another reason dad flipped out.
 
so now no one likes to help

I'm going to restore your faith ... I was in the park walking the dogs and there is an old lady with two little kids (4&5 maybe) and those boys were running around like little wild boys laughing their heads off ... and her ... just trying to catch up to them and she couldn't ... too old. You know who helped ? Three gang bangers ... they just acted ... ran right up to those boys ... grabbed them by the shoulder and walked them back to grandma ... it was nice.
 
It's a dangerous mentality people have about men vs. women with kids. In a way I get it, but there are plenty of good men that would just try to help. There's also plenty of sneaky, predatory women that can use this to advantage. I don't know the statistics on it, though. I guess my point is just be aware, don't get complacent & use caution before you blindly jump on the Facebook bandwagon...
 
I'm going to restore your faith ... I was in the park walking the dogs and there is an old lady with two little kids (4&5 maybe) and those boys were running around like little wild boys laughing their heads off ... and her ... just trying to catch up to them and she couldn't ... too old. You know who helped ? Three gang bangers ... they just acted ... ran right up to those boys ... grabbed them by the shoulder and walked them back to grandma ... it was nice.
Gang bangers in Canada???

Shit. Now i have to x canada off my list as possible places to live.
 
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