Inset: Dazhawn Richardson speaking to police after allegedly leaving his 1-year-old in the car to go shopping (Solon Police Dept.). Background: Officers retrieving Richardson’s child from the car (Solon PD).
In Ohio, a 28-year-old father is facing charges for allegedly leaving his toddler unattended in a car while he shopped at a local Aldi supermarket.
Dazhawn Richardson has been charged with child endangerment after the incident, as per court documents. An incident report details that officers from the Solon Police Department responded to a call at the Aldi store’s parking lot on Som Center Road around 3 p.m. on Friday, November 14. The caller had expressed concern about a baby left alone in a vehicle.
Upon arrival, officers discovered the black Mercedes sedan parked on the building’s north side. They could hear a baby crying and soon located the infant secured in a car seat in the back. Using a “lock-out tool,” the police accessed the vehicle and summoned emergency medical services from the local fire department to assess the child’s condition.
As the medics were arriving, Richardson emerged from the Aldi, identifying himself as the child’s father. After the child was evaluated by medical personnel, Richardson regained custody of the baby. However, he received a citation for child endangerment from the police.
Body camera footage, obtained by Law&Crime, shows officers approaching the vehicle with the sounds of a crying baby audible. Notably, the front and rear windows on the passenger side were slightly open, about an inch.
Body camera footage obtained by Law&Crime begins with officers approaching the car as the baby inside can be heard crying. The front and back windows on the passenger side of the car appear to be cracked about an inch.
The responding officer can be heard speaking with a female witness, presumably the person who called 911, about the situation. The witness said she was a mother and had been waiting at the car for some time while the baby cried.
“The baby is crying. It’s been a while,” she told the officer.
“Yeah, that’s totally unacceptable. I mean, that’s literally a baby,” the officer says in agreement.
When officers get the door open, the child appears to cry even louder. An officer takes him out of the car and noted that the little boy appeared cold and was shaking. He further commented that the car had not been running and the heat was not on despite it being only 40 degrees outside.
“The kid was literally shivering,” the officer first responding officer can be heard telling one of his colleagues.
When police met Richardson exiting the store, he told them he did not have any change to get a grocery cart and could not hold his son and the groceries at the same time. Richardson, who appeared to be genuinely concerned, repeatedly confirmed that he understood his actions were “stupid” and could have put his son’s safety at risk.
He claimed he initially tried to bring his son into the store with him, but was unable to do it. He also mentioned that he had recently donated blood and his arm hurt as a result.
Police and paramedics said they believed the boy was in the car for at least 15 minutes.
Shortly after authorities mentioned that Child Protective Services could be called, Richardson was allowed to go into the ambulance with his son. About a minute later, one of the paramedics can also be heard telling police that Richardson was crying.
“Oh he should be. Absolutely,” one of the officers responds.
It was not immediately clear when Richardson was scheduled to appear in court on the child endangerment charge.
