Statement
On May 9 MY FAMILY And Me were shopping at the Wal-Mart store in Live Oak, Fl. Arriving at the cash register I had two separate shopping cart (one that the kids were in and the other for the merchandise). I was trying to pay for the merchandise, but I gave the Cashier the wrong card. During this time, the cashier was very bothered by the fact that we were speaking Spanish. I noticed her impatience and told my husband that I would get my wallet that was inside the car.
When I was heading back to the store, my husband was hysterical telling me that the Cashier was accusing him of stealing a pack of gum and security was being called. I told my husband that we need to turn around and see what is going on. I arrived at that Customer Service Department and I asked to speak to the manager. A tall blonde lady between 30-40 yrs of age came rushing out accusing my husband of child abuse. The cahier that accused my husband was standing next to her. The Cashier told me that my husband picked up my son from the ground by one hand and slammed him back down because my son would not let go of the pack of gum and then my husband threw the pack of gum at her (Cashier). During this time, Wal-Mart's employees, security and two other personnel holding some type of management position one an older man with reddish or brown hair between 50-60yrs old, and the tall blonde lady between 30-40yrs old (I describe at the beginning of the letter), were crowding around us and the older man holding some type of management position told us that we were being detained and could not leave. Meanwhile, my husband and I
were scared for our son's well being because of the false child abuse accusation that the cashier made, and the way that the employees were surrounding us made my husband and myself feel like criminals, and we also feared they had the authority to take our child away. The manager (the older man) and security never once told us we were free to go on the contrary
They said we were being detained. My husband suffers from a condition that worsens under pressure or any situation that causes him distress. I told Wal-Mart's manager (an older man with reddish or brown hair between the age of 50-60) because my husband was having panic attacks, and he said, it didn't matter to him. During this time, security gathered around us in a tight circle. It felt as if Wal-Mart's security personnel were holding in the criminals before they could escape. The older man that held some type of management position insisted in quiet tone that we should follow him to a back room, we quickly refused because we feared again for
our safety. They were already surrounding us in a threatening manner, and we could only imagine what would have happened inside the back room.
The police officer arrived and the cashier that accused my husband of child abuse was called to tell the officer her side of the story. When the cashier first told me the story of what my husband did to my son; in which, my husband picked my son by one arm from the ground and threw him real hard in the shopping cart and than the cashier told the officer that my husband didn't pick up my son from the ground by one arm and that my son was already in the cart, and the cashier also said that my husband didn't slam my son.inside the shopping cart, like she first told me in front of another manager and the cashier also said that my husband snatched the gum out of my son's hand a bit ruff and that caused him to fall back down inside the cart and not that my husband slammed my son back inside the cart, with each time the cashier told the story, the intensity of the abuse lowered a degree or two. The abuse started with us by the cashier and was continued by Wal-Mart's employess by being held against our will at the store and aggravating my husbands condition through a false detainment and by being treated as criminals with false accusations and being publicly humiliated and discredited through finger pointing by Wal-Mart's management staff
After the officer questioned the cashier that wanted to accuse my husband of abuse, the officer called a second witness, another Wal-Mart employee, whose name is also on the report. The second witness was asked some direct questions of what she saw, but once the second witness was being questioned by the officer her answers were very brief and incomplete, and she had a half grin on her face that questioned her sincerity. The officer quickly dismissed the second Witness, and soon after that, the officer didn't find any cause to fit the child abuse accusations, so the officer quickly dismissed us too. On our way to the VA hospital in lake city, Fl, my husband quickly pulled over because his chest pains were getting worse, to the point that he said he couldn't make it to VA that to take him to Shands in Live Oak, Fl. We arrived and went straight back to the ER, where he was treated with a couple of doses of nitroglycerin, aspirin and other medical remedies in order to get his heart beat to slow down. The following days we spent them in fear knowing that The Department of Children and Families was coming to inspect our living conditions in order to see if my children were living in an abused environment. Any parent that is a loving and a good parent would relate to feelings of fear and helplessness if there could be a chance that your children could be taken away. DCF found nothing to hold up the child
abuse accusation, and DCF questioned the very reason of the call in the first place. I know that all calls must be checked up by DCF, but there was some mentioning that someone called DCF the following day besides the officer that had to contact DCF on child abuse complaints.
To This Date They Are tryin to deport us to Puerto Rico and staing that we as Puertoricans are iligal aliens and are to be deported
Rafael
Live Oak, Florida
U.S.A.
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