Sadly, we did all we could
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By Barb Ickes | Friday, January 25, 2008 |
You couldn’t miss the woman with the two toddlers.
She instantly stood out.
For one thing, she was talking way too loudly to the children who were with her at the Moline store. It was her volume you noticed first, then the condition of the kids. The little boy had no shoes, and his socks were flopping at the ends of his feet, even though it was only in the 30s outside.
The little girl’s face was filthy and she had no expression. I hoped she was just sleepy.
I remember the little boy the best because I felt so sorry for him. Actually, “sorry” doesn’t even cover it. I was afraid for him.
I can still see his face, even though it happened quickly and more than two weeks ago.
I was standing in line at the checkout when the woman stormed past, literally dragging the boy behind her. The little girl was sitting in the shopping cart and very nearly fell out because the woman was pushing it so wildly.
The boy was crying, and the woman was screaming at him, “You’ve embarrassed me for the last time! Now I’m going to embarrass you!”
She very clearly had lost it. She had no self restraint, no self control. The kids were about to pay for her inability to handle them.
Several of us in line, along with two checkout clerks, became concerned and uneasy. We looked at each other to ask what we should do.
The woman walked to a car that was illegally parked right outside the door. She literally threw the little boy into the car, still screaming at him. An employee who was fetching shopping carts in the parking lot must have seen it, too, because she and the woman were shouting at each other when I went out to get a license-plate number.
It was very, very ugly.
I went back in the store with the plate number and gave it to one of the clerks. Meanwhile, several customers were standing around just like me — unsure of what to do. I wanted to confront the woman, maybe even try to get her keys away from her until the police came.
But what right did I have to lay a hand on this stranger? Plus, she obviously wasn’t right. She was either drugged or drunk or both. Given her condition, a confrontation could go badly for everyone.
When the clerk called 911, she was told that others already had called.
Though I’ve thought about those children several times since it happened Dec. 29, the story about the woman accused of killing her four daughters in D.C. brought it home again.
In the D.C. case, at least six child welfare workers are being fired for failing to follow up on Banita Jacks and her four children. The kids, ages 5 to 17, had been dead for at least two weeks when they were discovered in their home last week. Jacks is being charged with four counts of murder.
Adrian M. Fenty, the mayor of D.C., applauded the efforts of Kathy Lopes, a school social worker who repeatedly tried to get the agency’s attention because she was concerned for the welfare of the kids.
“Unfortunately, she (Lopes) stands out really because so many other people didn’t do their job in the way they’re supposed to,” he said. “The sense of urgency that she showed should be shown in every case and every call that comes through our hot line.”
Can the failures of this agency really fall at the feet of six individuals? I’d say it’s more likely the culture of the agency itself that failed.
And this brings me back to the scene at the store checkout.
Moline Police Lt. Jerome Patrick said police weren’t able to locate the out-of-control woman that day but said it appears by department records that they know who she is.
It is likely, he said, that the case is still under investigation, adding that the cops have made several efforts to find her.
I had a bad feeling that woman wouldn’t be found that day. Naturally, I wonder what we should have done differently.
“You did exactly what you should have done,” said Sue Swisher, executive director of the Moline-based Child Abuse Council. “You noticed. You paid attention.
“We advise people to do exactly what you did. Don’t confront. When people are out of control, you don’t know what they’ll do. You can rest assured you did the right thing.”
Not really.
Barb Ickes can be contacted at (563) 383-2316 or bickes@qctimes.com.
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