MAD MOM: Blame put in wrong place

Are you kidding me, Ms. Hohn? In your letter you gave very little information about why the neighbor lady grabbed your 5-year-old son by the neck and arms. Was he doing something inappropriate? Was he in her yard?

You said she slapped your husband's hand away when he "addressed" her. Did your husband grab her, thereby warranting her "slapping" his hand away? Was your son out playing in the yard unsupervised that evening so someone (anyone!) was able to grab him? That alone would not be good parenting.

You say you want the Post Falls Police Department to "protect" your son. How about you protecting him first? It is the parents' primary responsibility to protect their children.

You say she got a citation and will have a court date, as she has no priors. She will most likely have to pay a fine also. Do you SERIOUSLY think she should go to jail instead? As if our jails are not overcrowded enough!

Is this woman older, does she have cognitive problems (i.e. dementia, Alzheimer's) that may have made her act out like that? Do you really think jail is the appropriate place for her? In my opinion, I think the PFPD did the right thing here. Anything more, such as arresting her on the spot, would have been overreacting.

You yourself said she didn't harm him seriously. If you had handled the situation a little more rationally, maybe your son would not have been so "traumatized" and you would not have to be writing a letter to the editor.

ANNE SEDGWICK

Coeur d'Alene