"AITA? I found a child and called the cops..."
I’m a property manager & yesterday evening a resident knocked on my door. There was a child (aged 1 and a half) sitting outside by himself. She told me that he’s been sitting there for about 5 mins with no parent in sight. We kept looking around but no one came out & I didn’t recognize the child.
I took him into my apartment & called the police. They arrived about 15 mins later. My brother remained outside for an additional 10 minutes, just in case the parents were looking for him. But no one came out. I left my door wide open too just in case.
As the police arrive I see 2 girls running & shouting. They were related to the child. The father also came out & he looked so relieved when he saw his child was safe. They said that the mom was doing laundry & she might’ve left the door open & the child got out.
They had just moved in 2 months ago which is why I didn’t recognize the kid. The police left after they asked me some questions. I called the resident afterwards to make sure everything was okay. I explained to him that the only reason I called the police was because I didn’t recognize his child as he had just moved in.
He sounded kinda pissed that I called the police. He said now social services will be involved. I told him that he has nothing to worry about if it was an accident. He wasn’t rude or anything but his tone definitely sounded angry.
Am I wrong for calling the cops? I feel so guilty and now it’s a bigger problem than I intended. Looking back, maybe I should’ve sat with the child where I had initially found him and just waited for his parents to come out. I feel like I was too quick to call the police.
Here's what people had to say to OP:
Bla_Bla_Blanket said:
NTA - laundry or not but mom would have noticed less than 5 minutes baby is not nearby. You did the right thing. More than likely no one wanted to be bothered watching the baby, everyone else thought someone else was watching him and then realized too late no one was watching.
Jazzlike-Pirate4112 said:
NTA. Thank you for doing the right thing. Anyone could have grabbed the child during that time.
DrZombie187 said:
NTA. You did the right thing.
Ok-Profession2383 said:
NTA. You made sure the kid was safe. The comment he made saying, "now social services will be involved" seems suspicious. That wouldn't be the first thing you would think about, if your kid was missing and then found.
Readsumthing said:
NTA. When you have two options, giving the benefit of the doubt to unknown parents OR choosing the safety of a defenseless infant to professionals to evaluate? Pffft.
ThisOneForMee said:
NTA. Sometimes people need to learn a lesson the hard way. If this isn't a regular occurrence, they have nothing to worry about. And if it a regular occurrence, why would you feel guilty?