When Melissa Townsend couldn’t control her children, ages 1 and 3, she called the police to teach them a lesson. Instead, she was the one being arrested. In the 911 call, Townsend says she wants the police to “scare the [expletive]” out of her kids because
“they’re not listening […] and they need to learn respect.”
The operator responded, “We don’t come out to scare kids.”
Former prosecutor Randy Zelin said on America Live that when the police showed up at Townsend’s house, she was visibly intoxicated, which violated her probation. When authorities tried to arrest her for child neglect, she became physical and was charged with assaulting a police officer.
Steve Raiser, also a former prosecutor, argued that police may have initially overreacted in showing up to Townsend’s house. “It was a stupid phone call. It’s one that she shouldn’t have made and it was a misuse of governmental resources. However, was that her intent?”
Zelin and Raiser debated the case on Kelly’s Court:
Source: Video