The shrill cries of two children screaming "Stop!! Please stop!" broke the silence in the air at 8:46 on the rainy morning of September 26, 2013. The two children are homeschooled, due to state and local tyranny within the school board. While both children study in four languages, the older of the two also studies international affairs. Both children are well above their academic level in achievements and successes.
On that miserable morning, the children were taking out the laundry when their five year old bulldog pushed his way out the door. Usually, he would only stay in the carport during rain, but he has been missing his long walks and car rides that both stopped when mom had to get rid of the car, then broke both her feet. Sam, the dog, was simply ready for a long walk.
See, mom is a single mother with no family, who has been very sick for the past three years. In the past year, mom underwent many surgeries including two more rounds of cancer, kidney failure and a brain surgery. The dog was simply eager to roam as he was so used to doing when mom was healthy enough to keep his routine.
When Sam got out, the two children immediately headed out on their bikes to capture him. But it was raining pretty hard and mom called them back to put on safety ponchos. While she looked locally, they searched the broader area, knowing that mom couldn't.
What mom heard several minutes later would be something from any mother's nightmare. The sounds of her children crying and she wasn't sure which direction to look first. Unlike gridded neighborhoods, all the streets ran in circles, so one would have to physically go through them all. She could hear their pleas, so it was obvious that someone was hurting them. The sudden rush of hopelessness to help them overcame her.
With adrenaline kicking in, the fact that she was sick and in pain no longer mattered. Where were her babies? What was happening? Was it the babies or the dog getting hurt? She began to ride faster when she almost crashed into the seven year old upon turning a corner. He was screaming for his mommy at the top of his lungs, screaming for someone to come help his sister. He didn't even realize who he almost crashed into. The rain began to come down harder.
Together they rode to the ten year old who was crying in a pool of blood on the sidewalk, holding the dog. Her eyes flooded with pepper spray, the girl was clearly having an asthma attack on the ground. Several neighbors were outside shouting curse words at the children but nobody helped the girl on the ground. Just then, a woman pulled up in her big dark truck and began spouting threats at the family and dog. The mother had already called the police and was unable to get her children home without assistance. She allowed the children to tell the police what happened and allowed the police to do their job, as asked. In the end, the police found that nothing was wrong with what the woman did. They said that she panicked in the moment and when she pointed the pepper spray in the girl's face, sprayed and cursed at the little girl, that was a normal reaction.
This is not the first time this has happened in Charlotte County. Just two years ago, the sheriff's department found it a normal reaction for a 30 year old man to strangle the same boy who was present in this incident.
To further provide ample proof that this is not a controversial trash family that we're talking about here, nobody in this family has a criminal history or any trouble with the law. Each member of the aforementioned family has been repeatedly in the newspaper for hosting or working church events, coaching community teams, and the girl is the only youth poet in southwest Florida and is well known for her work. The mother spends all of her time developing the children and whose life is dedicated to children altogether.
Yet and still, law enforcement fails to do it's job. An unnamed sheriff told the mother that only money will win in Florida. Unfortunately, those who the mother is fighting against have more money, therefore the mother and her children are thus left unprotected. They advised the mother to not allow her children to come out to play. Way to go Charlotte County.
This is the sixth time in one year that this unprotected family has been targeted and not once, has anyone been brought to justice. Yes, leaving Charlotte County is the only option.
