·  News ·  Travel ·  Food ·  Arts ·  Science ·  Sports ·  Advice ·  Religion ·  Life ·  Greensboro · 

Treffly Coyne Arrested for Leaving Child in Car

by RebelSnake | Published on March 13th, 2008, 8:09 am | News
treffly_coyne.jpg
treffly_coyne.jpg (7.86 KiB) Viewed 844 times


Mom Faces Trial for Leaving Child in Car

But that was long and far enough to land her in court after a police officer spotted her sleeping 2-year-old daughter alone in the vehicle; Coyne had taken her two older daughters to pour $8.29 in coins into a Salvation Army kettle.

"If I were going on a shopping spree then, yes, I would deserve arrest," accused mom Treffly Coyne said. "I was standing right there. I never went into the store."

Minutes later, she was under arrest - the focus of both a police investigation and a probe by the state's child welfare agency. Now the case that has become an Internet flash point for people who either blast police for overstepping their authority or Coyne for putting a child in danger.

The 36-year-old suburban mother is preparing to go on trial Thursday on misdemeanor charges of child endangerment and obstructing a peace officer. If convicted, she could be sentenced to a year in jail and fined $2,500, even though child welfare workers found no credible evidence of abuse or neglect.

On Dec. 8 Coyne decided to drive to Wal-Mart in the Chicago suburb of Crestwood so her children and a young friend could donate the coins they'd collected at her husband's office.

Even as she buckled 2-year-old Phoebe into the car, the girl was asleep. When Coyne arrived at the store, she found a spot to park in a loading zone, right behind someone tying a Christmas tree onto a car.

"It's sleeting out, it's not pleasant, I don't want to disturb her, wake her up," Coyne said this week. "It was safer to leave her in the safety and warmth of an alarmed car than take her."

So Coyne switched on the emergency flashers, locked the car, activated the alarm and walked the other children to the bell ringer.

She snapped a few pictures of the girls donating money and headed back to the car. But a community service officer blocked her way.

"She was on a tirade, she was yelling at me," Coyne said. The officer, Coyne said, didn't want to hear about how close Coyne was, how she never set foot inside the store and was just there to let the kids donate money, or how she could always see her car.

Coyne telephoned her husband, Tim Janecyk, who advised her not to say anything else to police until he arrived. So Coyne declined to talk further, refusing even to tell police her child's name.

When Janecyk pulled up, his wife already was handcuffed, sitting in a patrol car.

Crestwood Police Chief Timothy Sulikowski declined to comment about the case. But he did not dispute the contention that Coyne parked nearby or was away from her car for just a few minutes.

He did, however, suggest Coyne put her child at risk.

"A minute or two, that's when things can happen," he said.

Talk about the case has intensified, particularly online, where bloggers are weighing in on various message boards.

Many have harsh words for the police department, calling the arrest of a mother who left her child in a locked car for a few minutes an abuse of authority.

Yet statistics show thousands of children are injured and dozens die every year after being left unattended near or inside vehicles.

"I am talking tens of thousands of people who leave their kids in the car for any period of time all around America," said Janette Fennell, founder and president of Kansas-based Kids and Cars. "People don't appreciate the dangers of leaving a child alone in the car."

Coyne's attorney, Michelle Forbes, argued that Coyne did not break the law any more than a mother who parks in front of a school in a rainstorm and leaves an infant in the car as she runs a few feet to pick up another child.

"As long as the car is not out of her sight, then the child is not unattended," she said.

Cars with children inside have been stolen while the owners stepped inside service stations to pay for gas, Fennell said. Children sitting in cars have choked on things they stuck in their mouths. On Tuesday in Houston, after a woman got out of her car to walk across the street to talk to someone, her toddler was killed after he climbed out and tried to follow her.

"That child was also 2," Fennell said, referring to Coyne's daughter.

Coyne and her husband believe she is unfairly being lumped in with parents who put their children's lives at risk.

"If I were going on a shopping spree then, yes, I would deserve arrest," Coyne said. "I was standing right there. I never went into the store.

"I'm a great parent."


The police really screwed up on this one. The DA agreed with the mother and all charges have been dropped. I heard that on the news this morning. My only question now is whether or not she's going to sue.
 
 
If it was a GM vehicle, you could just say you left the onstar on.
This is our chance to change things, this is our destiny.
March 13th, 2008, 8:12 am
User avatar
Liv
I show you something fantastic and you find fault.
 
Location: Greensboro, NC
Treffly Coyne is a fine mother who happened to be out on an excursion planned by her children to donate to charity. A lesson we would all do better to be taught by her kids. Unfortunately the government, very concerned about the welfare of her child stepped in. Somehow the officer saw that a sleeping two year old in a warm and safe locked car with the alarm activated would be better off without the mother who cares for her.

The police would not listen to her story, they refused to listen to witnesses, they did not investigate by going into the store to look at the security video.

Instead, they arrested Treffly Coyne, took custody of her two year old child, broke up her family, and most disturbing, the police abandoned three little girls at the Walmart… left them to their own luck, crying on the curb.

All because the government decided Treffly Coynes family needed its “protection.”

Her children were never in any danger until the representatives of the government showed up.

The police chief of Crestwood, Timothy Sulikowski, knew that there was no evidence that Ms. Coyne had done anything wrong, yet he still decided she needed to be charged and prosecuted.

TO COVER UP THE HORRIBLE MISTAKES AND MISCONDUCT OF THE CRESTWOOD POLICE.

For 97 days she was labled a child abuser by the state, investigated by the DCFS or CPS, paid expensive legal bills and suffered the public humiliation brought on by the unsubstantiated charges of the Crestwood Police.

Even when the prosecutor dropped the charges for lack of evidence, the police chief and Mayor Robert Stranczek continued to make public statements against Treffly Coyne.

Treffly Coyne is now suing the Village of Crestwood, police officers James Ciukaj, Forrest Wondolowski and Angel Brudnicki in federal court.

She would have preferred to have won in criminal court.

All she asked for was an apology and that the charges would be dropped. Thousands of dollars later, and hundreds of thousands of posts on the internet, the Crestwood Police cannot even give her that.

A terrible mistake was made that night at the Walmart and the Crestwood Police and Mayor Stranczek refuse to acknowlege it. Until they do, all citizens, all families in Crestwood are in danger of these kinds of police abuse.

Her fight is not over. The federal Judge will hear the case and has the power to direct the Crestwood Police to make changes in their policies and procedures.

Hopefully she will prevail in her fight, which is a fight for all of our civil rights and her case will create stronger boundaries between the family and the police.

It was wrong to arrest that mother and subject her children to witness in terror the actions of the police.

What is more wrong is that the woman has to fight such wrongdoing in federal court.

A victory for Treffly Coyne will be a victory for all American Families. The civil rights she is fighting for our your civil rights as well.
April 4th, 2008, 4:29 pm
An American
 
It's not a cops job to judge one's innocence, only to enforce the law when it appears to be broken.
April 4th, 2008, 6:30 pm
User avatar
Liv
I show you something fantastic and you find fault.
 
Location: Greensboro, NC
Well, the prosecutor dropped the charges because there was no evidence. Perhaps if the police investigated for a moment before abusing their powers of arrest, they would have realized the mother did nothing wrong. Last week, the chief of police in Crestwood, Timothy Sulikowski resigned without explanation and the mayor would not say why he left the department. My guess is the bungled arrest of Treffly Coyne.

Ofmcourse cops are not supposed to judge the guilt of someone... but they are supposed to investigate to see if a crime was actually committed before they take a mothers child away and throw her in jail. The Crestwood Police sshould be ashamed of themselves.
June 29th, 2008, 9:33 pm
Watcher
 
I would have charged her for parking in a loading zone. That really pisses me off. Besides, isn't the Salvation Army there with the understanding they won't interfere with traffic in front of and entering the store? They should discourage this type of behavior.
June 30th, 2008, 8:28 am
User avatar
Nfidel
 
There is no question; she should sue.

The state should also take this opportunity to step in and very harshly discipline this police department. They have irresponsibly created a horrible situation for a family that was very undeserving of this treatment. Even though the station may have moved on and forgotten about this, it will stay with every member of this family forever.

In addition, the family probably needs supportive counseling at the expense of the police department plus reimbursement for damages including emotional distress.
January 19th, 2010, 10:03 am
MomX4
 
Treffly has got to be the most psycho chick ever. Voices in the head kind of psycho.
November 20th, 2010, 9:18 pm
Supah Doopah
 
Supah Doopah wrote:Treffly has got to be the most psycho chick ever. Voices in the head kind of psycho.

I nominate this post for deletion
All stupid ideas pass through three stages. First, it is ridiculed. Second, it is ridiculed. Third, it is ridiculed
November 21st, 2010, 12:46 pm
User avatar
A Person
 
Location: Slightly west of the Great White North
Treffly lied to everyone. Especially her husband. She lied to the court, she lied to the media. When the world was sympathizing with Treffly she was lying to the world.
November 22nd, 2010, 11:04 am
P Simon
 

Return to News