A pair of Arizona mothers attempted to convince police that they had left their children in the parking lot while they went to use the restroom, but they had both allegedly been drinking at a bar.
The Glendale Police Department released bodycam footage from March 8 that shows a chaotic evening unfolding in a parking lot. According to the post, officers responded to a call at around 11 p.m. that night from someone who reported seeing a small child running around the parking lot alone. Witnesses at the scene told police that they searched for the child’s parents but found no other adults nearby.
The child led the witnesses to a car with three other small children inside, two of whom were in car seats.
In the video, the witness told police, “This is [child’s name], and we found her going up and down here.” She took us to our car.”
When police searched the car as their BWC rolled, one officer discovered a large bag of marijuana, which police confirmed in their post. On the video, the officer can be heard saying, “Seriously?” when he realizes what he has found. Children can be heard crying in the background.
The officers said they searched nearby businesses for the children’s parents. The two mothers returned to their car about 45 minutes after arriving at the scene.
An officer informed one of the women, “Hey, your kids have been here for hours.” She replied, “Hours?”
Another officer asked her, “Where have you been?” She said, “I went in to use the restroom.”
The woman was informed that her young daughter had been seen running around the parking lot, and that the car containing the other children was unlocked.
The other woman also told police that she was in the restroom “and then I went to Caramel Cookie,” referring to the Crumbl Cookies location.
The officers continued to try to get a response from the first mother, who told police that she and her friend “went inside to go to the bathroom,” and that they “first went to the Salt bathroom,” referring to the Salt Tacos y Tequila bar and restaurant, according to local CBS affiliate KPHO.
“You went to Salt?” The officer said. “You went to a bar.”
The first mother admitted, “I mean, we did get a drink…” after initially denying anything but using the restroom.
When asked when she arrived at the bar, the second mother replied, slurring her words, “Uhhhhh, 15 minutes ago?”
The first mother became emotional as she tried to explain that she didn’t have her phone with her when she entered the bar. “Please do not take my children away from me. Seriously, these are the only things I have. I know this is extremely bad.”
According to police, both women, whose names were not released, “smelled like alcohol” and spoke with “slurred speech.” They both got arrested. The firefighters took the children to a nearby hospital.