Port St. Lucie won’t force parents of boys in abduction hoax to pay for police deployment
November 20th, 2009 by TCPalm.comPORT ST. LUCIE — Police Chief Donald Shinnamon has decided not to make the parents of two boys who made a bogus report of a girl being abducted Wednesday morning pay the costs of the massive effort to find the non-existent girl.
Tom Nichols, the Port St. Lucie Police Department public information officer, confirmed the decision but declined to explain Shinnamon’s reasoning.
“We’re just saying we’re not going after the parents to recoup the expenses and leaving it at that,” Nichols said.
Nor is the department going to calculate how much money was spent on the wild-goose chase. “To do that,” Nichols said, “would just cost more money.”
Dozens of law enforcement officers scrambled Wednesday morning and worked several hours to look for the reportedly missing girl. In addition to officers from the Port St. Lucie, they included about 20 deputies, detectives and a helicopter crew from the St. Lucie County Sheriff’s Office; about 15 Martin County Sheriff’s Office deputies and three detectives; 20 Fort Pierce Police Department officers; 15 canine units from throughout the southeastern United States who happened to be training in Stuart; and officers from the Stuart Police Department.
The two boys, whose names were not released but were said to be 8 to 10 years old, told police they saw two Hispanic men grab a girl and put her in their van about 7:30 a.m. Wednesday as the vehicle passed the bus stop at Southeast Pinero and Midtown roads near Port St. Lucie Boulevard in central Port St. Lucie.
The boys later admitted they made up the story, basing it on a television show they had seen.
Each boy received a misdemeanor notice for filing a false police report and were released to their parents.
By Tyler Treadway, TCPalm.com
Tags: arrest, Port St. Lucie police
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November 20th, 2009 at 3:31 pm
Nice of Law Enforcement to not worry about the money. Of course, they can just ask for more. This is the problem with allowing one group to spend another group’s money. Imagine how they they would feel if it wasn’t the tax payers’ money but their own.
November 20th, 2009 at 3:33 pm
Well, I’d guess the lesson learned here, as far as this story goes, is that these kids can file a false report and basically get no official punishment. I think some quality time, picking up trash in a community park or something, would have been appropriate to show that there are some consequences to their actions.
November 20th, 2009 at 4:17 pm
Lessonlearned: That is an excellent idea!! consequences to bad behavior is a must in life’s learning- what a missed opportunity.
November 22nd, 2009 at 10:13 pm
Guess PSL will give up several years of pay raises to cover the cost? Thats the problem with this country NO punishment , Look at how bad that girl turned out that stole the girl scout money a few years ago in Broward!