Long Island Mom Left Baby In Car (And In Sweltering Heat) While Shopping

[Zephie]

A Long Island woman was arrested for leaving her 14-month-old daughter while she was shopping at the Big H shopping center in Huntington. Aimee Rachlin's 2011 black Mercedes was "parked directly in the blistering sunlight, with the engine turned off" while the windows were "barely cracked." Other shoppers noticed the baby and called 911; when cops got to the scene, they found the child "sweating profusely."

Suffolk County Police Lt. Michael Montovano said, "We immediately removed her from the car and placed her in the air conditioned marked unit. The mother subsequently came out to the car from one of the stores. She had no explanation." It's believed the toddler was in the car for 15 minutes on a day where the heat index was 100 degrees.

While Rachlin was charged with endangering the welfare of a child and released without bail, her daughter was released to her custody. Child protective services is investigating.

http://gothamist.com/2011/07/23/mom_arrested_for_leaving_baby_in_ca.php

---------------

When reporters went to interview Ms. Rachlin over the weekend, they were met at the door of the home by a woman who threw a pitcher of water at them, then slammed the door, before pulling out a hose and attempting to douse them. http://gothamist.com/2011/07/26/video_reporter_doused_with_water_at.php

[Orrex]

1. So she cooks her child but helps reporters cools off ?

:wtf:

[JI7]

2. the good thing is that it seems others are reporting these things

more than before. i think all the cases of kids dying made people more aware of dangers.

[napi21]

3. After all the publicity about leaving children & animals in cars in this heat,

I honestly don't understand why anyone would still do it! It doesn't matter how educated you are, how smart or how dumb you are, EVERYONE knows how dangerous this is. WHY do people still do it?

i don't even take my little dogs anywhere in a car in this heat if I know I have to stop somewhere. When the highs are in the 80's I will take them and lock them in the car with the engine running and the air on. And I only do that when I knw the stop will be no more tha 5-10 minutes.

My kids are grown and have their own almost grown families and NONE of us ever thought of leaving a child in a car.

What the hell is wrong with these people?

[Gin]

9. but...being the good mother that she is...she left the door unlocked

on the car...her punishment should be she sits in an enclosed car in the hot sun for 30 minutes...get a taste of cooking that she gave her daughter.

[tblue37]

14. No, I *don't* think most people know. Whenever I see a dog in a car on a hot day,

I call the cops and wait for them. Sometimes the owner will come out before the cops show up. When they do, I always tell them I have called the cops (and I have taken down their license plate number, so the cops can contact them and explain stuff to them if they leave before the cops arrive). Then I explain that I am not trying to get them into trouble and the cops won't "punish" them, but the point is just to educate them, and if they will listen to what I have to say, I will call back and tell the cops that the dog is no longer locked in a car by itself and that I have already had a word with the owner.

Usually the owner is actually grateful to me for the information--because they did not know they were endangering their beloved pet's life! (I tell them horror stories and even carry copies of some articles, in case the people don't want to take my word for it.) Most people do love their dogs, and often the reason they take them along is because they can't say "no" or leave Fido behind when they are getting ready to leave to run an errand.

But you would be amazed at the number of things people don't have a clue about, even when it has been in the news all the time for years. People in the US are not readers, and they are not curous about things outside their own narrow interests, so news articles about such things often don't get noticed or read.

Even "educated" people can be astonishingly ignorant about the most incredible things.

For example, I have on a few occasions actually had to tell people with PhDs that they should NOT cut salad veggies on the same cutting board that they just used to cut raw pork on--without properly scrubbing the board first. They thought a quick wipe-down with a dry paper towel would be sufficient to clean off the board after the pork was cut on it.

My ex (a college professor) had that unfortunate habit, as did another professor I dated following our divorce. (Both men considered themselves gourmet cooking hobbyists.) When I was regaling another highly educated friend with the story about those two guys' scary cooking habits, my friend also couldn't understand what the problem was until I explained about the possibility of contracting trichinosis from uncooked pork.

I always assume that the dog owner (or parent) doesn't really want to torture the pet or child to death, so I always try to remedy the situation quickly (with the call to the cops), and then try to educate the person responsible. If it takes more than about 2 minutes for the owner or the cops to come, I run into the store and ask for a PA announcement from the information desk.

On a couple of occasions, the person involved has gotten pissed off at me, but usually I get thanks, not anger, because when they realize what could have happened to their precious dog, they are quite shaken. (I have never encountered the child-in car situation--but I would do the same thing if I ever did.)

Print off a couple of short articles about dogs/children dying in such situations and carry them with you, and then whenever you see it happening, call the cops, ask the store to run a PA announcement, and try to educate the owner/parent. You will probably save lives in the long run--because someone who does that sort of thing will keep doing it until they learn better.

OTOH, I get the sense from the article in the OP that this particular mother might be too self-absorbed and careless to be educable.

[InvisibleTouch]

16. Thank you for being watchful and helping where you can! n/t

[tblue37]

17. I think a lot of us on DU are passionate about the welfare of animals

and children.

I tutor the kids of a restaurant owner (from another country) here in town who was shocked when the police were called on one of her customers who left a dog in the car while she ate dinner (in the summer in Kansas). The owner asked me about it, and I explained to her why the police were called--and that if I had seen the dog, I would have been the first person calling the cops!

She owns a dog (that she loves), and she was quite astonished when I explained what can happens to dogs inside a parked, unairconditioned car on a summer day.

A lot of people just don't know.

If you look at the pic of the girl on FB, you cn see that she is probably young, self-centered, and unaware:

http://www.facebook.com/people/Aimee-Rachlin/1395918528

I don't mean to suggest that you can actually tell a person's character from a picture, but I teach college, and I know that even smart, decent young people are often totally self-absorbed and lacking in common sense about a lot of things at that age.

The girl's FB picture is of someone who has probably been the pretty, popular center of attention for most of her life, and now all of a sudden she is totally responsible for another--very vulnerable--person, and her own life is no longer really "about her." She might not eb a terrible person or a terrible mother; she might just be ignorant, immature, and lacking in common sense.

On edit: I just saw another article about this, and the mother's response to the police does suggest that she doesn't have a clue:

Returning to her new Mercedes the baby’s mother spotted patrol cars and officers said she wondered what all the commotion was about. Aimee Rachlin, 26, of upscale Old Brookville seemed to dismiss the concern, saying she was just in the stores for 15 minutes. Rachlin was stunned when police placed her under arrest. She was charged with endangering the welfare of a child, reports WCBS 880′s Sophia Hall <emphasis added>.

[napi21]

18. I don't doubt you, but for god sake, have these people never had to wait in a car for another

person and have to start up the car and the A.C because theycouldn't stand the heat? Are they so unthinking that they can't realize that same thing happens to their child o pet? Sorry, but I don't have a lot of patience with people who don't think at all!

[tblue37]

20. That's it exactly--unthinking. There is a huge amount of "unthinking"

in this country, I am afraid.

(I call it "head-up-the-tushyism.")

[kath]

23. "People in the US are not readers, and they are not curous about things outside their own narrow

interests."

And THAT, m'dear, is why we're in the shit we're in.
Voting not on the issues (which you really don't know about, or care to know about), but rather on "who you'd rather have a beer with", who's better looking, who has the prettiest wife (if it's a guy), etc, etc, etc.
When you travel abroud, you'll find that Europeans often know far more about US politics and US history than the typical dumb Murkan.

In terms of being readers (or not) --When riding the Tube in London, it was astounding to see how many Brits read on the subway - even those who didn't have a seat often read while standing up! And not just crap tabloids, but actual *books*!

[digonswine]

21. I don't disagree-but-

you cannot count on the publicity to inform the ignorant public. Here is an example--a friend of mine was upset at a billboard notifying mothers about WIC--foodstamps,etc. He said that everyone knows these things are available and why is the govmint spending money advertising welfare! Well--a mother of 16 or 17 MIGHT not know what is available to help her children. Anyone older should know, but the coming crop may not. Not an excuse for extreme ignorance or lack of care-but something to consider.

[hlthe2b]

4. wtf is wrong with people?

I am so determined to protect my aging doggy girl, that I get up at 5 AM to do our longer walks so she won't overheat. I pre-cool the car with the A/C at full blast if I have to go anywhere with her and then go only to those stores that let me bring her in, or that have a safe shaded area that I can tie her to--complete with employees I know who will watch her while I run into the grocery store. I always return with fresh cool water for her, if it isn't readily available. Our evaporative cooler that serves as "central air" is not quite cutting it in temps in the upper 90s, so she now lies between three vornado fans creating as much cross ventilation as is possible, in our home with windows completely darkened with dark insulating blinds.

While I would NEVER leave her in the car in the summer time, I have a thermometer that I check to be sure it is in the 60s or less--prior to leaving her with windows open (in a shaded area or garage) for a few minutes in early spring or fall. I have called the police and with the help of several others, assisted in breaking into a car that had a dog left to die the most excruciating death possible. We saved that dog only with quick intervention, ten or more gallons of cool water and ice, and a frantic trip to a local veterinary clinic. I accompanied five others to sign legal affidavits for the owner's prosecution. The owner made clear the dog was a nuisance to them and they just didn't give a damn. The judge was not impressed and threw the book at them with 90 days jail time and a major fine.

I say all this just to point out that THIS is what people who care DO--whether it is for a child or a beloved pet. WTF is wrong with people? Really?

[DainBramaged]

5. There is a mobile flashin sign by the shopping center where I live

"You wouldn't leave your kids in the car, don't even think of leaving your dog in there."

[HockeyMom]

6. 2011 MERCEDES?

So she couldn't afford a BABYSITTER while she went shopping?

[Redford]

7. What an idiot

and the cops should never of released the child back to her.

[Maru Kitteh]

8. If she wasn't white & didn't drive a 2011 Mercedes they would have taken the child

into custody, as they damn well should have here.

[AlabamaLibrul]

10. Not to mention BAIL

Funny how that works, if you drive a 2011 Mercedes you don't need bail

If you drive an 88 Honda you'd need 25k+ for a stunt like this

[Lorien]

11. That was my first thought as well. Barely a slap on the wrist. nt

[kath]

24. Egg-zackly!

[Recovered Repug]

12. Whenever I read a story like this, I can't help but wonder

if it's because the parent never had a car without AC. I'm 45. The first car I remember was a 1966 Ford Galaxy - no AC. I remember how hot it was if the car was parked in the sun for awhile and how long it took to cool down. Even if we just stopped at redlights the temperature increase was noticed.

Now, if you have a garage the car may be warm, but crank up the AC and it cools quickly. Stop because of traffic and the AC will keep the inside of the car cool. I wonder how many 30something and younger really understand just how quickly a car can get hot. Maybe some don't realize even little trips inside a store "just for a minute" is dangerous to children and animals.

[Obamanaut]

13. New York. Yup.

When there is an OP re weird, bizarre, horrendous, etc. actions by anyone in Florida or Texas, there will often be a one word response in the thread - "Florida" or "Texas" - suggesting that's where all the weird stuff happens.

Turn about is fair play.

There is no geographic boundary to weird. It is everywhere

[liberalhistorian]

15. Had the bitch been driving an older, less prestigious car

in a less-upscale neighborhood and been non-white, you'd better damn well believe she not only would have had a prohibitive bail, but the child wouldn't have been released to her custody and she would have had to have moved heaven and earth with child services to even be able to see the kid again, let alone regain custody.

Poorer minorities have lost their kids for a lot less than this, trust me, I've seen it. But CPS tends to leave the more well-heeled parents alone no matter what, while zeroing in on the least infraction, or even non-infraction, of parents of more modest means in less tony neighorhoods. Again, seen it. Working in the legal field, it doesn't take long to see the very real and brutally unfair biases of both law enforcement and the justice and social services system.

I remember, when I still lived in Ohio, a mother of means in an affluent suburb did this exact same thing, only the child died because she was parked in her office parking lot all day where there was far less traffic and no one noticed until it was too late. Incredibly, she wasn't charged with anything, the prosecutor said she'd "suffered enough" with her loss. But a week later, the same exact thing happened in a poorer urban neighborhood with a young black mother, and the prosecutor threw the book at her, no holds barred. The only good thing about it was the outcry that resulted over the imbalance in prosecutions.

The same thing happens in the state I now live in, a western state with a large native american population. A native american parent is going to be charged no matter what, while a white parent has far less of a chance of being charged. The imbalance in this state in the prosecutions, convictions and sentences of native americans versus whites is very well-documented.

[A HERETIC I AM]

19. Why is this news?

Is it really a surprise to ANYONE that some dumbass will do something dumbass-like in a heat wave?


Really?

Of course it is horrible for the child and yes, of course, the woman needs to be ...well...what?..Reprimanded?

Cited?
Charged?
Corrected?
Have her life ruined?
Have her child taken away?

She's an idiot.

Or...maybe...she is simply human and made a bad mistake.

[Lorien]

22. Meanwhile:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=439&topic_id=1585608&mesg_id=1585608