FRANKLIN, Ind. — A reserve police officer in Indiana faces felony charges after authorities allege he pretended to arrest his 15-year-old son as a scare tactic meant to keep him out of trouble.
Timothy J. Hayes Jr., 33, of Franklin, is charged with criminal confinement and neglect of a dependent, according to Marion County court records. Hayes, an officer with the Southport Police Department, turned himself in at the county jail last week.
The Indianapolis Star reported that the investigation into Hayes' actions began in January after a worker at Franklin High School reported seeing Hayes arrest the boy just off campus. The school staff member contacted the state Department of Child Services, whose employees in turn called the Indiana State Police.
According to NBC News, Hayes drove the teen to the Southport Police Department, where he left him handcuffed and unattended in an intake area for about 30 minutes. He then took the boy to the county jail and parked with him for a while outside the Adult Processing Center.
Southport police officials acknowledged Hayes' arrest on Wednesday, issuing a statement saying he was placed on administrative leave pending the outcome of the investigation. The statement does not name Hayes.
"As always, we take these matters very seriously and all individuals are considered innocent until proven guilty," the statement said.
The statement did not detail what led up to Hayes' arrest, but when a commenter on the department's Facebook page questioned what the teen had done "to warrant what his father did," someone within the department responded.
"The son had been hanging out with kids who were taking drugs and staying out all night," the response from the department said. "His father was trying to show him where he could or might end up if he didn't stop doing those types of things. He thought he could scare him straight."
Most of those who commented on the post agreed with Hayes’ actions.
"My father was a police officer for 35 years," Shannon Bryant Adelung wrote. "When I was young, he took me to the station, put me in a holding cell with handcuffs on. That was just good parenting. It definitely taught me a lesson."
A man named Chuck Brown wrote that he would understand reprimanding Hayes but disagreed on charges being filed.
"What is a parent supposed to do if a child is being out of line?" Brown wrote. "Who is supposed to teach these kids if parents will not use what is within their power ... and how is this much different than a juvenile camp or 'Scared Straight?'"
Another commenter, Jeffrey Rodgers, disagreed.
"So, what you're (saying) is that the officer, while acting in an official capacity, placed a child in his patrol car without probable cause. He then drove the minor to the police station without an arrest," Rodgers wrote. "He then drove the child to the APC, all in an attempt at intimidating him with his perceived authority? Indimidation ... criminal confinement ... kidnapping ... unlawful detainment ... false arrest ... abuse of authority ... mental abuse ... emotional abuse."
Michelle Zema wrote that at least the officer didn’t put his son in a cell with criminals, but she conceded that the officer probably should have consulted his supervisors before picking the teen up.
Others wrote that they hope Southport Police Chief Tom Vaughn will support the officer.
"Hopefully Chief Vaughn will support his officer and praise his parenting," Devon Ashcraft wrote. "More parents need to punish their kids and teach them lessons so they don't end up on the streets."
Hayes is due back in court March 24 for a pretrial conference, court records show.