So, I would call it ass. >> Yeah, I'm going to go. >> Do you think you know and I get it, you know, I'm not trying to chastise you. I you know, everybody's you know, parents a little bit different, you know, some some kids deserve you know, whooping every now and then to keep them in line. Do you think at any point that you might have just gotten too maybe a little out of control, little bit too emotional, too upset? >> Aurora, Colorado, a mother, three children, one school call. What those kids said separately without knowing the others were talking changed everything that happened next. >> How are you? >> Ah, cool. You said talk to you said well. >> Yeah, here here I am. Here I am. What do you got for me unfortunately? >> We have um a family of three students here, all siblings. Mom um just got them all back a few months ago. Okay. The she had them and then I believe uh from my understanding it was domestic violence. Dad might be away. Um you know, we say away, you can say away in jail or whatever. >> Yeah. >> Uh not not in the picture. I don't think I think there's like actually like some kind of restraining order type thing anyway. Um so, Mom had a like CSB was involved with careless driving foster care for a place on time. Mom got a couple of them back. Um I have a first, second, and third grader here. Uh she got a couple of them back and then it was a little while until she got the third one back. Four or five weeks ago she they dropped CSB >> Kevin >> dropped the case. Is that the right closed the case or whatever? Sorry. Uh closed the case. She did not think that they should close the case. Children Services, she's like, "You know, I would love to think that mom's ready." She said, "In my opinion, I just don't think she's ready." Um she said, "But so if there is anything, let me know." Um so I did try to call this morning. There has been There's been some things going on. As soon as that case Mom acted really timid and really nice and really kind to Mrs. Hour when she came in. She was like It was a facade, you could tell. Like you couldn't even hear her sometimes. I'm like, "I'm sorry, I didn't hear what you said." And then she would talk a little bit louder. I'm telling you, the minute the case closed, Ava, one of the daughters, she started medication a couple months back. She was taking her medication, acting really, you know, her behavior had really changed. As soon as the case closed, Ava runs out of medication. Uh doctor And so I was asking Mom like, "Uh Ava's saying that she didn't get her medication. She's like under tables, running around the building." Like there's obviously behavior concerns now. What's going on? She's like, "Well, she ran out." I said, "Well, when's her appointment?" Because you know that's a controlled substance. They make you go to the doctor every 30 days or whatever. Um that doesn't make sense. Well, her appointment's not for like another week and a half. Well, where's the medicine? So that's something you're struggling with. Mom started getting an attitude right away with me after the case was closed. Well, now I see how you all are. You're just bothering my kid. My kid gets bullied every day. You don't want to do anything about him, but you're you know, or do anything what happens to him, but you're all over discipline. Uh and like giving me the eyes like a flip. Like she's switched a flip. Like flip a switch right now. Like as soon as it closed. No medication, attitude, kids are being picked up late. Um you know, instead of addressing the medication, she would say, "I'm just picking her up. I'm not dealing with this." Pick them up, take them out of school. I'm like, "Mom, they can't miss school. I mean, we have an RN in the building." Somehow, she got notes from the doctor that gives Ava her medication, and the notes said that the doctor believes mom's either taking them or selling them. No reason she's running out. So, now we're going to We started this week giving the medication here at school. >> Okay. >> Which is good. Ava came in this morning to get her medication. She was sitting here. She was fine. She had Took her back up to class. Teacher comes to me and says, "Mrs. Ella, she has a fat lip." And I was like, well, then Ava comes up to me and says, "It feels like the pill is stuck right here." And I was like, "That's cuz you didn't really take any water." So, I said, "Ava, what What happened to your lip?" And she said, "I fell on the concrete last night." I said, "Really? Is that really what happened? Because I don't see like a cut or scratches or anything." And she was, "Well, do you want me to tell you the truth?" And I said, "Yeah, what happened? I said, you're not in trouble." So, she proceeds to tell me they had tacos last night, spilled taco meat on the floor, mom got angry, dragged Ava down the steps. Sounds like Ava was kind of like resisting, and so she like put her legs out this way. And the reason I'm telling you like I'll tell you why I'm telling you this. Like spread her legs apart, um but she was getting punched in the face, slapped in the face. She was hit with um a croc in her face. Um she was getting stomped on, screamed at, "I hate you." Well, so I did I talked to Ava. This is pretty much the story she told me. Then I pulled We pulled Senaille, the sister Senaille, and the brother Patrick. Um they all said the same exact thing. And then there's a 4-year-old that has also some kind of medical conditions, too. He goes to the hospital, I think, once a week or is supposed to for like blood transfusions. Um, but he was also stomped on, hit in the stomach, um, things like that. >> incident is what the all the kids are saying. >> Yes, and they all said this separately by themselves like you know what I mean? >> Right. >> So, I called CPS. I said, "I do believe Bless you. I do believe that the case is closed currently." As an intake person, I'm sure you can see there was a history there. And she did And so, she said, "I'm going to call my supervisor. They're going to send somebody out." Um, and she said the supervisor said call APD. Uh, "Have an officer come to the building." So, that's why I called. >> Okay. The central legal question in this case is governed by Colorado Revised Statute Section 18-6-401. Under that statute, corporal punishment by a parent is not prohibited. The law prohibits physical injury to a child or punishment that is excessive, cruel, or causes injury beyond transient discomfort. The responding officer stated this distinction accurately and on camera. A notable and commendable moment of legal clarity in a high-pressure situation. The children's disclosures were obtained separately without cross-contamination. All three independently described the same sequence of events. Under Colorado evidentiary standards, independently corroborated child disclosures carry substantial weight, particularly when consistent across siblings of different ages. Interviewed in isolation from one another, a swollen lip visible at school the following morning, and reported bruising on the back and shoulder consistent with strap use provided physical corroboration, aligned with the children's accounts. >> Okay. So, give me a few little bit. Let me start making some phone calls. I'll come back in. Stay. No problem. She may not answer. I'm from police. Are you Ashley? >> Huh? >> Are you Ashley? >> Am I Ashley? >> Are you Ashley from We need to check on the welfare of your child. >> Him? >> Yes. Okay. I'm going to explain to you what's going on real quick if that's okay. >> That's fine. >> You want to have a seat down in the kitchen? So, the kids went to school today and they had some injuries on them. And um after some interviews injuries they said that the injuries came from you. >> Can I explain? >> I I'm just telling you that's why we're here, okay? So, we need to check the welfare of the child. Okay? And at this point we're going to be taking the child to CSD. >> Are you kidding me? >> I'm not kidding you. >> But why? Why, sir? >> Because of the claims from the children, okay? >> Can I Can I know what happened exactly? Can I know what was said exactly? >> All right. At this at this point >> door. I'm sorry. It's kind of chilly in here. >> Yeah. At this point what what happened is they went to school. Uh one of the children had an injury to their face and an arm. >> Her lips. >> So, she initially said that she fell on some cement. Um and after some discussion with the child she said that it was because she was being punished and she was hit. When I talked to your other two children, your other two children separately, they corroborated that so that they were also physically disciplined yesterday. Okay? So, that's where we're at right now. >> So, is it against the law for me to spank my kids? >> [clears throat] >> It's not against the law for you to use corporal punishment. It is against the law for you to exceed a level of harm. >> I didn't harm anybody, officer. She got that on her lips from wiggling and when she ran from me, she fell. We were in the house though. She didn't fall on concrete. >> Okay. >> And as far as my son, he has a platelet condition. I didn't even touch him. He's always bruised. I got documents in my house to prove it. >> think anybody's I don't think anybody's saying that that you harmed your child that's here with you. >> So, what do I have to do? >> [clears throat] >> Uh children services going to come over here, okay? And um they're going to talk to you, okay? And then they're going to take You know how that goes with the hearing. Um >> [clears throat] >> there'll be a hearing that you have to attend, probably uh >> Are you kidding me? >> I don't know. Okay. >> I can't believe this is happening to me. I cannot believe this. I cannot believe this is happening. >> But uh from what I was told, you've been through this before. Is that correct? >> Yes. >> So, you understand that cooperation is is the key. >> I'm crying. I look I love my kids. >> And and and and and you are. >> I'm just I'm I'M OVERWHELMED AND I >> I know. >> I don't even Why would she tell you she fell on concrete? They did get spankings yesterday for not listening, not cleaning up LIKE I TOLD SEVERAL TIMES. MY SON PUT A HOLE IN THE WALL FOR PLAYING, BOUNCING OFF THE WALLS AND STUFF. AND I'M SAYING, "SIT DOWN. This is a two-bedroom, son." And I It's four of them. "Sit down. I'm trying to cook and I'm trying to do this and I'm trying to do that. The least you could do is clean up. NOBODY DID HOMEWORK YESTERDAY. NOBODY WANTS TO LISTEN to me." So, WHEN I GIVE OUT SPANKINGS, what am I supposed to do? Then they KNOW I'M COMING FOR A SPANKING, SO NOW THEY'RE RUNNING AND THE FLOOR IS SLIPPERY. THEY GOT SOCKS ON. HELLO? >> I didn't push her that hard. >> The kids They took away our kids. >> Don't do that in front of him. I don't want to But if it becomes becomes an issue enough, we'll we'll take the kids. >> Yeah, the Ava got a whooping yesterday and she was running. She fell and busted her lip and I guess she went to school told them first she fell on the concrete did I guess it came out that I gave her a whooping and the other kids said, "Oh yeah, she gave us whoopings too." BUT I DIDN'T. I GAVE THEM WHOOPINGS CUZ THEY WERE BAD. THEY WERE BAD. I'm at home. I don't have the other star bell here with me. The other kids in that school the police here talking about they about to call child services to come GET MY BABY. AGAIN? >> HI, how are you doing? >> [sighs] >> Hey, this is Dr. Adams over at Lamar Community. Um, are you guys removing them now? >> Um, I'm not 100% sure. The other three are at school. Um, I think CSB is coming out here. >> Okay, so I'll meet you over there, okay? >> Okay. Ashley, what's his first name? >> [crying] >> I know. So, you've been through it before, right? There'll be processes and stuff like that where you can let them know what happened, but we have to go off of what the kids said. [laughter] Okay. Ashley, I mean if if it's if it's like you say, then you just got to you got to you got to Okay, then then you got you got to articulate to that [laughter] that to them, okay? But and I understand that you you may have recently got the kids back, but then you know how the process works, okay? >> Hey, how are you doing? >> I'm doing it. >> Are you >> I'm Dr. >> Dr., are you a case worker or you Okay. Are you familiar with >> Yeah. Yeah, give me a second here. I'm trying to get hold of somebody at intake. >> Okay. >> Just let me talk to her for 1 second. Give me a second. >> Yeah, absolutely. >> Okay, so here's the deal. So, he's not going in. But, I need you to keep your wits about you and to think about this, okay? So, they're going to charge you. I'm going to go down there. I already texted him. But, they're going to charge you with three counts of child endangerment and three counts of domestic violence. >> And we don't want to do anything like that in front of our daughter. That's all. So, we're just asking for your cooperation. I know it's not easy. It's probably very, very difficult for you. But, obviously, you have people that care about you. We just want this to go as peacefully as possible. >> So, you tell me what you need to do. And so, they're going to take you. They're going to book you in. And then, we'll find out all the information. We'll do the TVN tomorrow. We'll try to get the kids with Avery. >> So, I mean, if I'm I'm going to jail, they're going to have to take me in and I'm going to go to a to a appointment. >> Well, we don't know if they're going to when you're going to get bonded out of the morning. You'll have arraignment in the morning. They don't have Listen, they don't have anything to do with this. They They have to do what they have to do. >> So, you'll go you'll go tomorrow morning. >> Yeah. No, you're fine. >> But, just to cover your point, you will go to arraignment in the morning if you are out. They will I don't think you have any criminal history. I don't think you do. No. So, you'll probably get a bond of some type once you make an appearance, you're arraigned. And hopefully, you can make the meeting. If not, they're going to be in contact with >> No, we'll be there. Okay? >> Yeah. So, >> We'll be there. And we'll be at court tomorrow. Okay? I know. I see what you're thinking, and I just want you to remember everything you do from this point forward is going to affect you one way or the other, okay? So, let them do their job, and then we'll we'll try and figure this out together, okay? Okay? All right. Do it and have a seat. >> You want to wait until the wagon gets Yeah, it's more comfortable to ride back here. We're not there yet. >> Applying the multi-factor legal test for excessive corporal punishment, first established in academic commentary and codified through Colorado case law, courts examine the degree of force, the instrument used, the body parts targeted, the child's age and physical vulnerability, and whether resulting injury exceeded transient discomfort. Here, the children were ages 6, 7, and 8. The instrument was a purse strap. The body parts affected included the face, visible injury was present the following morning. Each of these factors individually raises concern. Collectively, they present a fact pattern that crosses the statutory threshold. The mother's post-Miranda statements obtained after a lawful advisement under Miranda versus Arizona, decided in 1966, constituted admissions that independently supported the charges. She confirmed use of the purse strap. She confirmed chasing the child. She confirmed all three older children received physical discipline in the same episode. A defendant's own post-Miranda statements are among the most durable pieces of evidence a prosecution can bring before a court. Three counts of child endangerment were charged under Colorado Revised Statute Section 18-6-401. Three counts of domestic violence were charged under Section 18-6-800, which extends to acts against household members, including children in the home. The domestic violence designation is significant. It triggers mandatory arrest under Colorado law, removes prosecutorial discretion to decline charges, and carries collateral consequences beyond the criminal sentence itself. One constitutional issue warrants careful analysis. Prior to formal arrest during the initial home interview, the mother began offering statements before Miranda was administered. The threshold question is whether that interview was custodial. Miranda applies only to custodial interrogation. If a reasonable person in the mother's position would not have felt free to leave, the interview was custodial and pre-Miranda statements may face suppression. The officer's failure to clarify the encounter's legal status early creates an evidentiary vulnerability the defense may exploit. The defense theory that Ava's lip injury resulted from a fall, not a strike, is not frivolous. If the defense can introduce reasonable doubt about the mechanism of that specific injury, it may weaken the most visible physical evidence in the case. However, three independent child disclosures describing facial strikes significantly complicate the fall theory. The court will weigh the children's accounts, the medical findings, and the mother's own admissions in combination. >> charge >> Real Real quick, I'm going to read you your Miranda rights, okay? And then I'll ask you a few questions. You can decide at that point if you want to talk, okay? Um you understand these rights that I just read to you? Having that in mind, do you want Do you want to talk to me about what happened last night with the kids? >> My kids weren't listening. And Lily >> Okay. >> weren't listening to my my direction. We're play fighting. They put a hole in my wall. And I gave them all whoopings. When I whooped Ava, she ran through my house. I chased her, she fell. And after that, it was over because she hurt herself. I got a couple of licks in with the purse strap. >> Okay. >> And that was it. >> What >> After that, everybody cleaned up the living room and they went upstairs and went to bed and I was done. >> Would Would there be a reason why the kids would have a little bit different version to that? >> I mean, when the officer came in, he told me Ava said she fell on concrete. She does have a history of fibbing, but who knows? I don't know. >> You get it. You know, the And obviously the the school, you know, somebody at the school, one of the teachers saw she had a bruised lip. >> I asked her this morning. I said, "You know why you got that?" "Yes." It wasn't because I hit her in the face or punched her in the mouth. It was because she was running from being disciplined and she fell on her own. >> Because >> I whooped them all except for Darvelle. >> Right. And they And they all admitted to be getting the the getting whoopings. But Ava said it was just because she spilled taco. >> She didn't spill taco, sir. Everybody had taco on the floor in the living room because I allowed them to sit in there while they ate their dinner and watched television. So, I said, "Now, get that up. Come on, y'all. Y'all heard me tell y'all, all right, if y'all eat in here, make sure y'all clean this mess up so I won't have to say nothing." And there's taco meat all over the floor and I come down here and y'all playing. "Get this [ __ ] up." That's how I said it. >> Yep. >> I went back upstairs and I'm messing with the clothes. I'm I'm probably smoking or whatever the case may be and I hear boom! And I hear ooh! I go downstairs. PJ put a hole in the wall. "No, I didn't. It was Ava." Everybody had a story. So, I whooped all they ass. >> Do you think you know, it it And I get it, you know, I'm not trying to chastise you. I you know, everybody's, you know, parents a little bit different, you know. Some some kids deserve, you know, a whooping every now and then to keep them in line. Do you think at any point that you might have just gotten too, maybe a little out of control, little bit too emotional, too upset? >> No, like I said, after Ava fell, I stopped. I didn't even whoop her no more. I was chasing her around to scare her initially cuz I gave them a couple whacks that the purse is a purse strap. I gave them a couple whacks and then she start running around. And I'm like, "Okay, I'll chase her." Just to initially scare her, not to initially keep whooping her. But she fell on her own. After that I was done with her. I told her get her ass up, go upstairs and go to bed. >> At any point >> Everybody took showers, everybody had eaten. All they had to do was clean up, but they were playing in taco meat and put a hole in the wall because they weren't listening to me. On top of not doing the homework like I said with school it was there ALL DAY, ALL DAY. NO, I DIDN'T get emotional because they're my children. At the end of the day they're children. But yes, I discipline my kids. I whoop them a lot because they don't listen to a lot. >> Is there any reason why that any of them would say that they were You said you whooped them, hit them with the strap a couple times. Did you you smack them like overhand, like, you know, open hand, >> No, that's why I have the purse strap for. That's why I have the purse strap. I got two actually. >> At any time do you recall like >> teenagers, these are babies, guys. >> Do you recall at any time uh like kicking any of any of them, hitting them with your hands? >> No, sir. No, sir. >> Is there reason Is there a reason why they would they would they would say that? >> No, I don't know. I don't know. I mean, they witnessed their daddy do it. I don't know. Maybe they just recollaborate in the [ __ ] they seen, but I've never open hand slapped my kids or kicking them. They eight, seven, and six years old. >> Did you recall seeing any bruising on any of them? >> I seen Ava's lips a little bit. >> you know, Ava her her lip was a little little swollen. Uh what about Patrick? >> No. >> No, nothing. Were they complaining of any injuries to you? >> No. >> Last night or this morning when they went to everything you got them dressed for school and they >> Everything was perfectly fine. The neighbor takes them to school every single day. >> Okay. At any time did you tell them not to tell anybody about what happened last night? >> No. Because they get whoppings all the time. Cuz they don't listen all the time. And it's never aggressive whoppings. It's one, two, go to bed. Who next? In line. In line. >> Like I said, I mean now's a now's a good good opportunity if you if there's something that a piece of the puzzle that we're missing, um anything that you want to clear the clear the air or or >> What I don't even know what was said. So, I don't know what air I'm clearing. I don't know what they said. >> Ava said she she spilled food. You began chasing her. You started striking her. That's how she got the fat lip. You were dragging her by her feet. Now she has she has bruises on her back, on her shoulder. >> From the purse strap? >> I don't know. That's what I'm You think that the any any any bruising that they might have maybe would be from the strap if you got a got a kind of got a good lick. >> if you see how my kid we go to bed like this, sir. We be we don't go to sleep with clothes on. We always PJ sleep in his underwear. >> Okay. If you feel that there's anything else that you can add, that you want to tell me, tell my partner, anything like that, just let us know. I'll come back and and talk to you, okay? And we're not going to put any handcuffs or anything on you right now. Just kind of I got both windows open so you get a good cross breeze. We'll go from there. All right? >> The responding officer receives an A minus. His explanation of the corporal punishment statute was legally precise. His Miranda advisement was timely and compliant. His de-escalation throughout a volatile encounter was professional. The deduction reflects the pre-Miranda ambiguity during the initial home interview. A procedural gap that, while potentially minor, created unnecessary legal exposure. The mother receives a D. Three independently corroborating child disclosures, visible injury, physical evidence consistent with strap use, and her own post-Miranda admissions present a fact pattern that satisfies the elements of Colorado Revised Statute Section 18-6-401. The defense retains viable arguments, particularly around the pre-Miranda statements, and the mechanism of Ava's lip injury, but the evidentiary weight is substantial. The D, rather than F, reflects cooperation with the arrest process and the real-life stressors documented in the record. The agency and system response receives a B+. The mandatory reporting chain functioned correctly. The school counselor's separate, non-contaminating interviews of three children represented sound investigative practice. Multi-agency coordination, law enforcement, CPS, and a physician on scene reflected a child-centered response. The deduction reflects one systemic failure, the prior closure of the CPS case against the school counselor's documented objection. That decision removed oversight from a family the system itself had flagged as at risk. Three lessons from this case. First, the pre-Miranda ambiguity. In any home interview that may become custodial, officers should clarify the encounter's legal status before questioning begins. Failure to do so does not necessarily violate Miranda, but it creates suppression arguments that prosecutors must then defend. Administering Miranda earlier costs nothing and forecloses the issue entirely. Second, case closure criteria in child welfare. When a mandatory reporter who has direct sustained contact with a family formally documents concern about a case closure, that objection should trigger a supervisory review before the case is closed. The pattern here, compliance under oversight, deterioration immediately after, is a documented risk indicator. The system had the information. It was not acted upon. Third, the corporal punishment threshold is not vague, it is fact intensive. The legal line between lawful discipline and criminal abuse is not drawn at the use of an implement or at the presence of pain. It is drawn at injury beyond transient discomfort, at body parts outside the conventional scope of discipline, and at force disproportionate to any legitimate corrective purpose. Parents, educators, and law enforcement officers alike benefit from understanding these factors with specificity, not as abstractions. Let us know if there is an interaction or legal topic that you would like us to discuss in the comments below. Thank you for watching, and don't forget to check out our second channel, Street Body Cam, for even [clears throat] more police interaction and courtroom content.