A 33-year-old Colorado father was handcuffed in front of his wife and 6-year-old daughter for allegedly violating a social distancing order on Sunday.
Matt Mooney said his daughter was left traumatized after police swooped in on his family to arrest him during a trip to the local park.
The father reassured his daughter they were doing nothing wrong by playing tee-ball in the park, however the police cuffed him in front of the little girl.
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Per KDVR:
Matt Mooney feels Brighton police owe him a huge apology. The 33-year-old says he was handcuffed at Donelson Park in front of his 6-year-old daughter Sunday afternoon after police told him he violated the state’s social distancing guidelines.
Mooney told the FOX31 Problem Solvers he refused to provide his identification to three police officers because he was confident he wasn’t doing anything unlawful by playing tee-ball with his wife and daughter at the park.
“She’s like, ‘Daddy, I don’t want you to get arrested.’ At this point I’m thinking, ‘There’s no way they’re going to arrest me, this is insane.’ I’m telling her, ‘Don’t worry, Daddy’s not going to get arrested. I’ve done nothing wrong. Don’t worry about it,’ and then they arrest me.”
Thegatewaypundit.com reports: The incident was recorded by former Brighton City Councilman Kirby Wallin.
“He’s being taken by the Brighton police for playing softball with his daughter in an empty park,” Wallin said.
In an interview with the Problem Solvers, Wallin said, “I find it hard to believe with all the things going on in our communities, the only way to resolve a situation like this was to handcuff a father in front of his daughter.”
The sign at the park said: “in groups of no more than 4 persons, parks remain open for walking, hiking, biking, running and similar activities.”
Mooney said he was at the park with his wife and 1 daughter (less than 4 people) and that it was the police who were violating the social distancing order.
“During the contact, none of the officers had masks on, none of them had gloves on, and they’re in my face handcuffing me, they’re touching me,” he said.
The father was released by the cops after spending about 10 minutes in the back of a patrol car.
“If we’re going to go ahead and start arresting people for no reason in front of their 6-year-old daughter, you’re just going to cause more problems later on,” he said.
The Brighton police department said in a Facebook post on Sunday it is conducting an investigation into the incident.
“The Brighton Police Department is conducting an investigation into a situation that occurred late this afternoon at Donelson Park. This is an active investigation and so we are unable to provide additional information until the investigation is complete.”
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