Recently, a newspaper ran a story of a man who was pictured holding a one year-old baby… and a gun. The picture got posted to Facebook, and his mother-in-law called the police, believing the gun to be in too close of proximity to the child. Police arrested the father for the Weld County equivalent of Child Abuse (CRS 18-6-401) and put him in jail. The Weld County Colorado statute that applies to the cities of Greeley, Erie, and Kearsey for child abuse reads that a person will be charged with child abuse if they permit “a child to be unreasonably placed in a situation that poses a threat of injury to the child’s life or health…” Apparently, the mother-in-law thought that the child’s life was in danger because the baby was pictured with a firearm, and police agreed with her.
We feel that police are over-reacting. There were no violations of the second amendment or Colorado gun law and there was not even any evidence from the picture that the gun was loaded. The gun actually turned out to be a BB gun, but that still did not change police officer’s minds regarding the arrest. Is it now child abuse to have a baby, teen, or young adult in the vicinity of a firearm? This man should quickly hire a private attorney who can diffuse this situation before it gets even more out of hand.
Apparently it is now against the law to hold a child while also holding a weapon or firearm. This might be helpful to know in Milliken, Eaton, or Hudson. If you do happen to be in a position where you are holding a gun and a baby at the same time, do not upload those pictures to Facebook. Or, at the very least, do not let your mother-in-law see those pictures online.
If police contact you regarding Weld County Child Abuse (18-6-401), be smart, exercise your right to remain silent, and contact the experienced criminal defense attorneys at the O’Malley Law Office at 970-616-6009. Together, we can protect your future.