Government's police decide to enforce laws controling parental
decision making instead of issuing an appropiate parking ticket.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,337012,00.html

Case of Illinois Mother on Trial for Leaving Child in Car for Minutes
Sparks Debate

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CHICAGO  .  Treffly Coyne was out of her car for just minutes and no
more than 10 yards away.

But that was long and far enough to land her in court after a police
officer spotted her sleeping 2-year-old daughter alone in the vehicle;
Coyne had taken her two older daughters to pour $8.29 in coins into a
Salvation Army kettle.

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The 36-year-old suburban mother is preparing to go on trial Thursday on
misdemeanor charges of child endangerment and obstructing a peace
officer. If convicted, she could be sentenced to a year in jail and
fined $2,500, even though child welfare workers found no credible
evidence of abuse or neglect.

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Even as she buckled 2-year-old Phoebe into the car, the girl was asleep.
When Coyne arrived at the store, she found a spot to park in a loading
zone, right behind someone tying a Christmas tree onto a car.

"It's sleeting out, it's not pleasant, I don't want to disturb her, wake
her up," Coyne said this week. "It was safer to leave her in the safety
and warmth of an alarmed car than take her."

So Coyne switched on the emergency flashers, locked the car, activated
the alarm and walked the other children to the bell ringer.

She snapped a few pictures of the girls donating money and headed back
to the car. But a community service officer blocked her way.

"She was on a tirade, she was yelling at me," Coyne said. The officer,
Coyne said, didn't want to hear about how close Coyne was, how she never
set foot inside the store and was just there to let the kids donate
money, or how she could always see her car.

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Crestwood Police Chief Timothy Sulikowski declined to comment about the
case. But he did not dispute the contention that Coyne parked nearby or
was away from her car for just a few minutes.

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