Two Florida cops are facing scrutiny for having jailed their 3-1/2-year-old child for failing his potty training exercises.
According to an extensive investigation by The Daytona Beach News-Journal, last October two Daytona Beach Shores police officers — Lt. Michael Schoenbrod and Det. Sgt. Jessica Long — locked their boy up in jail at least twice.
CW: child abuse/childhood trauma
.
.
This is Det. Sgt. Jessica Long and Lt. Michael Schoenbrod of Daytona Beach PD. They have a 3 1/2 yr old together. Long brought the child to the PD bc they were struggling with potty training their bowels. Schoenbrod handcuffed the TODDLER pic.twitter.com/G3zEtn5ctu— Meg (@java_junkie34) June 28, 2023
During the second lock-up on Oct. 6th, the boy was reportedly also handcuffed.
“He was crying. I was getting the response I expected from him,” Schoenbrod later reportedly told a Department of Children and Families caseworker during a recorded interview.
“The boy promised to never again poop his pants, Schoenbrod said in the interview,” the News-Journal notes.
He also admitted to having used this strategy nine years earlier with his then-4-year-old son after the boy had admitted to hitting a girl at school.
“I took him to the jail and he sat there. And I watched him … and he was crying and everything, and to this day, if you mention, like, that incident, he’s just like, ‘I would never do that again.’ It was effective,” Schoenbrod said in the interview.
“So that’s why I did it with this [the 3-1/2-year-old]. He didn’t hit anybody, but I figured the same thing, discipline. And he didn’t want to go back, so …,” he added.
Sometime later in the interview, Long complained about a city investigation into the two parents, saying the investigation was “insane.” Schoenbrod concurred.
“It’s just disgusting that somebody would drag our family through the mud like this,” he reportedly said.
But not much else is known about these two because the investigation into them is apparently sealed. Though according to the News-Journal, multiple parties have been trying to get it unsealed.
“For months, Daytona Beach Shores-area residents … have been asking City Hall for records related to the matter, but the results of investigations remain largely shrouded in secrecy,” the paper notes.
On Feb. 4th, for example, resident Lonnie Groot demanded documents related to any officer in the office locking up a kid at the local jail.
“He has continued questioning the lack of transparency, including the fact that if the city was, indeed, party to a legal petition and ordered to keep records of the internal affairs investigation secret, why the city commission hasn’t discussed the matter in a public meeting,” according to the News-Journal.
“This whole matter just does not pass the basic smell test from a transparency and governmental openness perspective,” he reportedly wrote to Daytona Beach Shores city attorney Becky Vose.
“I cannot imagine the City Commission tolerating and standing mute about a city employee bringing a child to City Hall and punishing the child in the City Commission chambers. Why, then, does the City Commission act so meek, powerless and non-transparent as to this matter involving law enforcement officers?” he added.
Meanwhile, self-identified “civil-rights activist” Mark Dickinson, a former South Daytona cop, “requested the Volusia County Sheriff’s Office body-cam footage from the Division of Children and Families interview and posted it on YouTube in March.”
“When he requested the findings of the professional standards investigation against Schoenbrod and Long, Dickinson said he was sent an estimate of $3,398.40 − approximately 40 hours of work at $84.96 per hour − to review and redact the materials,” the News-Journal notes.
“Dickinson said he understands that the child’s name and the officers’ home address may be protected, but those redactions shouldn’t make the entire matter − including the internal affairs investigation − confidential,” according to the paper.
“It’s a severe matter of public interest when you have strong allegations of that kind. Rumors are being brought to you by fellow law enforcement … and you want to make sure the stuff they’re saying isn’t true,” he told the paper.
The paper further notes that Michael Barfield, the director of public access initiatives for the Florida Center for Government Accountability, has said that “his organization is planning to file a motion seeking hearings on why the records are confidential and a copy of the motion seeking confidentiality regarding the incident with the ultimate goal being to have the records unsealed.”
Members of the public, for their part, appear to side against Schoenbrod and Long, with many accusing them of engaging in child abuse (*Language warning):
omg what the actual fuck they handcuffed a baby
— amyfromarlington (@amyfromatown) June 28, 2023
His OWN toddler!! Where is CPS??
— [email protected]️ ☭ (@hotjugsbev3) June 28, 2023
When you’re a hammer, everything looks like a nail.
— Critical Bass Theory (@CriticalBassTh) June 28, 2023
An idiot who abuses his children! The little kid is going to be traumatized for a long time! It takes longer for a little boy to be potty trained than for a little girl of same age. Most of kids are potty trained by age 3 (again, little longer for the boys). The 2 retards are
— Ecoxx (@Ecoxx21) June 29, 2023
Writers and editors can be contacted at [email protected] with feedback, tips, or corrections.
V. Saxena is a staff writer with a decade of experience as a professional writer, and a lifetime of experience as an avid news junkie. He holds a degree in computer technology from Purdue University. Saxena also contributes to BizPac Review.
Comment
We have no tolerance for comments containing violence, racism, profanity, vulgarity, doxing, or discourteous behavior. If a comment is spam, instead of replying to it please click the ∨ icon below and to the right of that comment. Thank you for partnering with us to maintain fruitful conversation.