Need some advice. If I handled this correctly and what others would have done
Pulled into shops today and car next to me has a child (roughly 2yrs old) asleep in the car. It’s 1degrees here today and has been snowing. I stood by the car for 5 mins and took a photo of the number plate to go into to shops to ask for them to do a tannoy announcement. I walked around to find someone who wasn’t serving but didn’t want to not be able to see the car so instead I went back out to stand by the car as thought that might be best incase the child woke. I was in two minds to call the police as I don’t know how long this child’s been sleeping in there.
Out comes and man with a couple of bags of shopping pushing a buggy. I ask him if it’s his car/child and tell him how irresponsible it is to leave child alone in the car. He is instantly abrasive telling me to mind my own and he has a hard day and stop judging him. We go back and forth with me just generally trying to make him understand that it’s extremely irresponsible as it’s freezing. I tell him I had taken a photo of the car and was going to call police if he hadn’t returned. He starts getting annoyed it being GDPR and I’m breaking the law taking a photo of his car with his child in it and tells me he is phoning to police on me for taking a photo of his car.
Anyway due to him becoming aggressive the fact he has left the child I decide to just phone them anyway as I didn’t know if it would
escalate and it’s dark outside with no one else in close proximity.
He comes at me to hand the phone over so he can talk to them himself, I obviously refuse. We have a bit of back and forth and eventually off he speeds in his car.
I rung my DH in the way home as I needed to offload and was obviously shaken. He has gone off at me telling me I should have minded my own business, that im a ‘Karen’ and I should have done nothing.
Now I genuinely feel so bad. I’m not usually one to judge people and after was thinking what if he is just having the worst time and trying to do his best and I’ve now reported him neglecting his child. What would you have done in this situation? Should I have just made sure he returned then left. AIBU or you have called the police. I fear I’ve done the wrong thing!