To think it was not an overreaction to call the police?

[hottubwhocares]

We were out today at a family event. We were parked up in the car park of the venue and were getting in our cars to travel home. There was a man parked next to us in the (relatively narrow) bays, window down, chatting to his girlfriend. He was there when we came out and approached our car.

DD age 8 was getting into the back passenger side of our car, so on the same side as his car. I was on the other/driver’s side. As I was getting in, I heard DD start to scream. Basically the man next to us had started to move his car forward and his back wheel had run over the back of her ankle/foot.

I immediately ran round the back of the car, picked her up, helped her into the back seat and took her shoe and sock off to have a look. The top layer of skin had come off and it looked bruised so I went round to his car, said sorry, I think you have hurt her so I am going to need your details.

He and his girlfriend then said ‘Why? I haven’t done anything wrong’. I asked if he was refusing and he said he ‘didn’t even know what happened’ and started mouthing off.

So, I called 999 and of course the second he heard I was on the phone to the police, he started offering his details.

Two police cars then attended. DH is furious with me and says I completely overreacted as DD’s injury was minor (scrapes and bruises) and I ‘see the worst in everyone’. I am very upset about his lack of support when our child was hurt and upset.

FWIW I would never move my own car when a child was down the side and if I had ever done anything like this I certainly wouldn’t be mouthing off at the parent of the injured child!

So, was it an overreaction to call the police?

Andthe man could've driven to outer Mongolia in the time it took them to answer the phone

They wouldn’t have had their blue light on 🙄
But where someone is going to commit the crime of leaving the scene of the accident without doing the right thing then yes I’d not have trusted him.

Oh, and did you miss the bit where the OP has repeatedly pointed out that she was told by the dispatcher that she was right to call?

They ran over the back of her foot which took the skin off.

This, he tried to run over a child’s foot and then leave the scene

I mean the police came out pretty quickly so I'm thinking no not an over reaction. I can't imagine they'd come out willy nilly.

It’s irresponsible to not supervise a child of that age. Even if they don’t injure themselves, there’s an excellent chance they’ll damage the car next to them.

All these people saying it was an overreaction are talking guff!!
Like hell would anyone be cool calm and collected and not react if someone drove over your child's foot and then started mouthing off like they did nothing wrong.
The dispatcher also said it was a police matter and I'll go out on a limb here and say they know what they're doing.

The minimisers on this thread know that the 999 handler is equipped to triage and on this occasion thought it was worth sending officers? And Amazingly actually had some available to send.

the OP did the right thing and 999 call handlers would have given her a different response if she was wrong.

They came quickly because OP claimed her child had been run over. If she told the truth and said the child had a small scrape on her foot, I’m sure the police reaction would have been different.

Overreaction, if there wasn’t much room to get in between the cars you should have supervised her till she was in.

YABU for calling the police yes . It wasn’t an emergency. What could the police have done? 999 is for emergencies and this wasn’t an emergency. I don’t know what use it is to have the drivers details . He should have been more careful when pulling away , it could have been worse , but it wasn’t .

YANBU for panicking . Which is what happened and why it escalated .

Hope you’re calmer now and hope your DC is ok .

Did he even ask if DD was ok @hottubwhocares ?

It sounds as though it was an accident, but even if you accidentally injure anyone never mind a child, with your car, well my first action would be to check on them. I doubt you would have called the police if he had been a bit more apologetic and not gone into knob mode ?

Yes, and I’ve had two of them recently! It’s only now at almost 10 that we are trusting our youngest.

Children often pull doors open quickly without thinking; if a car was parked too close a younger child would just open the door enough to get in even if it meant touching another person’s car!

There have been multiple times over the years that we’ve had to pull the car out so one of us can get in as a car has parked on/ over the line next to us and we can’t get in! My DH (as the driver) once had to get in on the other side and climb through to get to the driver’s seat!

Well the key thing is that the police thought it was a police matter, so it doesn't matter what your DH, or a load of randoms on the internet think really.

Injury is not always blood gushing. Her bones could have been crushed.

You were very restrained and acted very appropriately by calling the police. These people acted in a way that caused physical harm to your child. You protected your daughter, tbh I'd have launched myself at the twats but I have anger management issues 🎉♥️ xx

Whilst I absolutely understand your concern about your child your aibu is about calling the police. Yes I do think you were ridiculously overreacting to call 999, that is an emergency number not a ‘I’m annoyed with a reaction to bad behaviour so I’m going to show you’ number. Your husband is right, glad there’s at least one sensible person between you. God help is if this is a standard reaction

Absolutely, she lied to get a response. Meanwhile a serious crime is happening that they cannot attend. The entitlement of some idiots is mind blowing

seems entirely appropriate to call the police. The guy drove over a kids foot, tried to claim he didn’t and was getting aggressive. You were right OP

I can't believe you're getting a hard time for calling the police. He ran over your 8yos foot and then refused to give you his details. You are human, I'm sure you were emotional and not necessarily weighing whether you should call 999, the none emergency number or just take a picture of his plates. You reacted, maybe slightly rashly but not crazy over the top.

Sitting in my house, I would probably think the best option would be to take a picture of his car and report when you got home - possibly after an a&e visit but that's very easy to say when you're not in the moment.

What a ridiculous over reaction. The police only came because the OP exaggerated what had happened. What a waste of police time.
Your daughter should be told to keep her wits about her and stop being such a drama queen too.

Not RTFT but if someone ran over my child's foot and refused to stop or give details I'd be calling the police as well. He had no idea how badly your dd was hurt.

Peoples' driving has become terrible and I am glad that for once, the police came out promptly.

Now if they can just deal with all the idiots who park on pavements on busy roads...

You did the right thing, the driver was a scumbag, I hope he'll think twice in future. As for some of the response here fucking breathtaking. I remember a thread on here once where a woman at a supermarket car park turned away and her trolley rolled into the side of another car. She was handed her arse on a plate, it was all her fault she was a disgrace, posters called her every name under the sun.

Yet this MAN has hit a child's foot and and people are questioning why the OP even wanted his details?!

You’re her mother, her guardian, you acted to protect her, please don’t beat yourself up over this. Any decent person would have apologised and been kind to a child they’d (unintentionally hurt). You showed your child you wouldn’t put up with abuse. I agree with those who feel your husband should have supported you. Perhaps his embarrassment threshold is lower than his ability to emotionally support his wife and child. I have had cause to call the police non emergency line when someone had threatened me and it was an answering machine with a suggestion of email. In retrospect I should have called 999.
Find a supportive family member or friend to back you up for being brave for sticking up for your child and not letting this thug off the hook.

This is probably why DH was angry, he is feeling guilt as it is partly his fault and was embarrassed to explain how it happened to the police.