Update- Ullin, Illinois Police Officer Dakota Richardson (27 years old), was officially charged today with child endangerment and reckless conduct with the possibility of great bodily harm. Both of these charges are a class A misdemeanor. He is on unpaid leave while this incident is under investigation. These charges stem from an incident that happened on December 13th of last year.
Officer Richardson allegedly left his service weapon at his girlfriend's house in Jonesboro, Il. His girlfriend's four-year-old child saw the weapon allegedly laying on a bed and decided to take it to school in his backpack. Officer Richardson stated that he left his gun in a drawer when he would visit his girlfriend's house. He stated that he is unclear why the boy would say it was on the bed. Officer Richardson also told the responding police officer that the little boy would take things he shouldn't take. The police officer responded by asking officer Richardson why he would leave a gun in a drawer where a child that is allegedly known for taking things could reach it. The responding officer stated that officer Richardson did not have much to say about that.
Bridgette Threlkeld is the mother of the barely 4-year-old child that brought the loaded service weapon to school after he said he saw it "laying on his mother's bed in the morning while she was asleep," according to the six page police report. The police report also States that Bridgette is a 911 operator for the Pulaski County Sheriff's Department.
The child was at his mother's house for visitation. The child lives in Goreville with his father. Goreville is the 4-year-old's primary residence, so he attends school there.
No one had any knowledge that the child had a loaded weapon at Goreville Pre-K for the entire school day. No one knew the child had the weapon in his backpack when his father picked him up from school. The child was not only around school staff and other children all day but he also was with his siblings, who are all under the age of 6 years old, after school.
The four-year-old was picked up from school by his father on the 13th. At approximately 3:30 p.m., the father received a call from his ex informing him that her boyfriend was missing items from his service belt and their child may have grabbed a "flashlight".
The police report does not mention when the police officer noticed his gun was missing. The officer did not report it stolen or missing to his department.
The father checked his preschooler's backpack and found a service weapon. The police report notes that the father was never warned that it may have been a gun that was taken from the service belt.
The father called his current wife and informed her of the situation. She came home immediately because her husband is not knowledgeable with firearms and she happens to be former military. The couple called the police. The 4-year-old's stepmom secured the weapon by unloading it and cleared the round from the chamber, according to the police report.
Officer Dakota Richardson's first court appearance is tomorrow, January 3rd.
The Ullin Police Department has not made any public statements about this incident.
Pictured below is the photograph attached to the police report showing the service weapon inside of the child's backpack.
Comments
Post a Comment