Police Refuse to Enforce Restraining Order

[ChrisDeluna]

My question involves restraining orders in the State of: TEXAS.

I have a TRO (Temp Restraining order) that was issued yesterday against the mother of my child. The order states that "the court having examined the affidavit of the petitioner (me) finds that pursuant to T.F.C. sec.105.001(c) 'Good Cause' exisist and it is, therefore, ORDERED that:

a. The clerk of this court issue an order attaching the bodies of the child of this suit and placing the child into the possession of the petitioner, and
b. Respondent is hereby excluded from the possession of or access to the child until further orders of this court."

I have gone to the police and filed a report that I have the TRO and that my son is in imminent physical and emotional danger, yet they WILL NOT separate the child from his mother if I can find them. They stated that it is a civil matter and even if I had court orders that placed him in my custody full time, and her having no rights to our son, they would not intervene. The only recourse that I would have is to notify the court that she is in violation and then the court would take action.


I'm sorry for my candor but WHAT THE HELL. This woman is emotionally unstable, abusing prescription painkillers and has a history of neglect. She gets wasted on pain pills and sleeps all day while my son walks the streets and the police cant do a damn thing!?!? She has stated that she is on her way to Canada but my son called his great grandmother yesterday and said they are in Oklahoma and headding back to the area that day.


Someone PLEASE help me, what can I do to get an AMBER ALERT issued so I can get my son out of this dangerous situation? Reply or email me ASAP. I havent slept singe she "abducted" him from me on monday. I use the term losely because there are no standing custody orders. He only has the clothes on his back and she has no income but may have $650 and access to a car in my name.

[Mr. Knowitall]

If the police aren't willing to act on your behalf, hurry back to court and see what you can get the judge to do. If the judge issues a bench warrant, for example, the police should act on that.

[aardvarc]

My question involves restraining orders in the State of: TEXAS.

I have a TRO (Temp Restraining order) that was issued yesterday against the mother of my child. The order states that "the court having examined the affidavit of the petitioner (me) finds that pursuant to T.F.C. sec.105.001(c) 'Good Cause' exisist and it is, therefore, ORDERED that:

a. The clerk of this court issue an order attaching the bodies of the child of this suit and placing the child into the possession of the petitioner, and
b. Respondent is hereby excluded from the possession of or access to the child until further orders of this court."

I have gone to the police and filed a report that I have the TRO and that my son is in imminent physical and emotional danger, yet they WILL NOT separate the child from his mother if I can find them. They stated that it is a civil matter and even if I had court orders that placed him in my custody full time, and her having no rights to our son, they would not intervene. The only recourse that I would have is to notify the court that she is in violation and then the court would take action.


I'm sorry for my candor but WHAT THE HELL. This woman is emotionally unstable, abusing prescription painkillers and has a history of neglect. She gets wasted on pain pills and sleeps all day while my son walks the streets and the police cant do a damn thing!?!? She has stated that she is on her way to Canada but my son called his great grandmother yesterday and said they are in Oklahoma and headding back to the area that day.


Someone PLEASE help me, what can I do to get an AMBER ALERT issued so I can get my son out of this dangerous situation? Reply or email me ASAP. I havent slept singe she "abducted" him from me on monday. I use the term losely because there are no standing custody orders. He only has the clothes on his back and she has no income but may have $650 and access to a car in my name.

First, has the order been SERVED to her? In other words, has she received notification FROM THE COURT that she's not to have the child? Unless and until that happens, the rest is probably a moot point. Until the order is served, they're typically not entered into the system and thus not even available for law enforcement to act upon, even if they're standing right next to her.

Second, how police will react, once there is a valid and enforceable order, can depend on which "police" you're talking about and exactly how the "finding" occurs. Is law enforcement going to go to her and get the child? No. However, should you happen to find them together, and you summon the sheriff's office (a branch that is responsible for ENFORCING orders of the court) and they have to make a call at the scene, you can pretty much count on the child going home with you. City and municipal-based law enforcement agencies, while they may be able to act on CRIMINAL orders, will typically not get involved with CIVIL orders, like this one. In court-related matters or orders, particularly of a civil nature, the sheriff's office is the route for assistance.

This woman is emotionally unstable, abusing prescription painkillers and has a history of neglect. She gets wasted on pain pills and sleeps all day while my son walks the streets and the police cant do a damn thing!?!?

And yet, after all this time, you've not pursued a formal custody case?

Are we talking about a 12 year old or a 2 year old walking the streets? Is the child of school age and attending school? That alone makes a HUGE difference. Who has made reports to CPS about the child walking the streets? How many reports have been made? What was the outcome of those investigations? Were police called when the child was "walking the streets"? Did they find and return the child or report the neglect (again, the age of the child makes a difference here)?

As Mr. K points out, failure to abide by the court's order could result in a warrant being issued. Still, that won't have anyone out combing the street looking for her or the child. She'll get nabbed just like 95% of other people with warrants: either she'll have a brake light out or commit some traffic infraction, or, some "helpful" citizen will notify a law enforcement officer that "this is where she is right now, and she's wanted".

Finally, even the issuing of a civil order like this one generally doesn't meet Amber alert standards - they too will regard this as a civil custody issue. If you've got some actual and credible threat against the child, they might consider it, but in absence of such, I wouldn't get my hopes up for an Amber alert. Unless there are important details you've neglected to mention, the burden of IMMINENT physical danger is lacking (and emotional doesn't count). It's not going to be treated as an abduction since you didn't HAVE custody to begin with - you got it after the fact (ergo it's still a civil issue).