'It's sickening to see somebody do that to their child.'At a news conference today, Mobile County Sheriff Paul Burch admitted he found the punishment metted out
At a news conference Thursday, Mobile County Sheriff Paul Burch admitted he found the punishment meted out in the video disturbing as well, even though he admits having used physical discipline with his own children.
"You know, all four of my children know what a belt feels like," he stated. "But discipline is supposed to be for corrective action. That went way beyond that."And in Alabama, it is a legal option for a parent to use to discipline their child.But what is less clear is when that punishment crosses the line from legal discipline to willful abuse, with the law stating a parent or guardian "may use reasonable and appropriate physical force upon the minor or incompetent person when and to the extent that he/she reasonably believes it necessary and appropriate to maintain discipline or to promote the welfare of the minor or incompetent person." In other words, what is reasonable is left up to the parent or guardian... until someone in law enforcement decides that line has been crossed."A lot of them, I will say, don't rise to the level of criminal abuse on the parent. Most of them do not turn into that," says Corporal Cameron Sheffield.And while few cases rise to the level of an arrest, he says each is evaluated by a special team, because even one genuine case of abuse overlooked is one too many. "Our prosecutor, victim advocates, counselors, the Department of Human Resources, our law enforcement all sit down at a table, and we discuss the cases individually. We share the pictures, we discuss the photographs, the injuries, the context, and we come to a conclusion together about whether it was reasonable and lawful or whether it was excessive or violent, and whether it rose to the level of criminal activity."Physical injury is certainly one consideration, but it's usually more than a spanking on the buttock or a switch or belt to the back of the legs. "So, you can spank a child with a belt on their butt within reason and be completely lawful," says Sheffield, "but if you turn that child around and do that same act across their chest, genitals and face, well you may end up in jail." But there are other clues... evidence that can only come from talking with the child, brothers and sisters, the parents themselves."99% of the time we do not have a video of this abuse," says the corporal. "We have to run this investigation off of physical injuries that we can see, testimonies, forensic interview of the child AND statements made by the parents. And sometimes that's all we have to tell the whole story and paint the picture that we need to know what happened." Corporal Sheffield says even though most cases do not rise to the level of abuse, that doesn't mean we should ignore suspicions of abuse.If you have seen a child being abused or believe it may be occurring, you should report it to DHR or the Child Advocacy Center... and you can remain anonymous.A disturbing video showing a local teacher allegedly beating her child has prompted an investigation by the Mobile County Sheriff's Office.The video, initiallyA fired teacher who was arrested on a felony child abuse charge after a video of her beating her 12-year-old son went viral will likely face additional charges,CAUTION: THIS VIDEO MAY BE CONSIDERED OFFENSIVEA protester dressed as a large phallic object was arrested during Fairhope's "No Kings" protest -- part of a natA coordinated investigation involving the Gulf Shores Police Department, Foley Police Department and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service has resulted in the arre
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