OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR) – A woman has been arrested after two children were allegedly found in a car by themselves.
According to Oklahoma City Police, officers responded to a check welfare call at the Walmart near Belle Isle Blvd. on Friday, September 8.
Upon arrival, officers found two small children in a truck that was not running. Reports say they had been left unattended for around 30 minutes. The temperature outside was about 90 degrees with a heat index of 95 degrees, according to police.
Officials say the rear windows were covered with blankets and the front windows were cracked about 1-2 inches. It was noticed that the kids were sweating and unable to open the doors on their own, so the Oklahoma City Fire Department gained access to the vehicle and removed them.
A responding officer noted the air inside the car was noticeably warmer than outside. The children were taken to an EMSA vehicle to be looked over and to cool down while one of the officers went inside the Walmart to try and find the owner of the truck.
Officers say as they were standing next to the vehicle, a woman approached them with the truck’s keys in her hand. The woman, identified as Jasmine Fairley by her Florida state ID, began to ask about the children.
An officer told her the kids were being looked after by the Fire Dept. and that she was being detained and was not allowed to leave. The officer began to detain Fairley by placing her hands behind her back when officials say she began resisting and fell to the ground.
“At one point she attempted to crawl underneath the truck, and I placed my leg between her and the gap so that she could not. She continued to disobey verbal commands to stop resisting and to roll onto her stomach. I was able to roll her onto her stomach and began to try to extract her arms from underneath her. She began yelling for bystanders to help her and call 911,” said an officer.
Police say bystanders were telling Fairley to stop and that she had left the children in the car. Officers were able to gain control of Fairley and detained her in handcuffs. She reportedly continued struggling as officers tried to place her into a patrol vehicle by using her feet to push away from the police car.
Fairley was arrested and is currently facing charges for child neglect and obstructing an officer.