An Indiana police officer has been accused of forcing his 6-year-old daughter to stand in the freezing cold holding a sign with a disturbing message as punishment for "pouting." Allegedly, the cop, Cody Scott, prohibited the child from wearing lip gloss, according to authorities. Scott and his wife, Kylie Scott, were charged with felony child neglect.
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According to court papers obtained by WTHR, the incident that triggered the investigation happened on January 19. Back then, a woman saw a distressing scene as she noticed a little girl, Scott's daughter, standing in the cold by herself. She was holding a sign. Said woman called 911, telling the dispatcher what was happening.
Allegedly, the sign displayed the following disturbing message: "I want to stab and Kill my brother - I even take an antipsychotic - If you need to give pity - then give it to the victims."
As per Indiana State Police, and reported by WTHR, Officer Cody Scott arrived at the scene alongside his supervisor. Body camera footage allegedly shows the woman confronting Officer Scott, but he allegedly gave a heartless response. "Yup, she comes out here every 30 minutes, and she goes back inside every 10 minutes to warm back up," Scott said, according to court records.
While the caller and Scott continued speaking, an "older male" intervened, expressing fear over the child's wellbeing. The older male, like the woman caller, asked Scott why would a little girl stand outside in the cold. Officer Scott then allegedly explains himself, giving an outrageous answer.
"Well sir, aside from me cruelly beating her physically, I've not done any other punishment that has worked for her," Scott allegedly said, as per court records.
Disturbing Signs
The New York Post reported on the many other things that Officer Scott allegedly said during the conversation. "She's threatened to kill my family, she wants to embarrass us, she wants to urinate on herself and destroy things in the house," Scott said, according to court records. "I have a [Department of Child Services] caseworker involved. She's been in therapy for three years, she also has the wrap around program at school."
At one point, Officer Scott allegedly told the 911 caller that he had taken his 6-year-old daughter to a local hospital twice, saying she was "kicked out." Scott also revealed, as per court records, that he even threatened to pick her up. However, the hospital said that they would call the Department of Child Services for abandonment.
An investigation was carried out by a case worker from the Howard County Department of Child Services. The investigation revealed that this was not the first time that the girl was forced to carry similarly disturbing signs. On one occasion, the Scotts allegedly forced their daughter to walk to school while carrying a sign that read, "I pee on everything and cover it up like a cat." Then, she was allegedly forced to carry a sign to Walmart that read, "I lie to hurt other people."
While interviewing the Scotts, it was Kylie who reportedly revealed the reason behind the punishment. She said that they punished their daughter with the January 19 sign after she pouted. Reportedly, she was told not to wear lip gloss.
Following the incident, police reportedly put Officer Cody Scott on leave. On March 12, he was put on leave without pay. Both he and Kylie Scott were charged with two counts of felony neglect of a dependant.
