UK woman arrested for 'stealing' her own daughters' iPads
What's the story
A 50-year-old history teacher from the United Kingdom, Amanda Brown, was recently arrested on suspicion of theft. The whole thing started when she confiscated her daughters' iPads in a disagreement over parenting.
Brown spent over seven hours in police custody after officers nabbed her from a secondary location last month.
She said she felt "traumatized," calling it an "overreaction" for simply disciplining her children.
Arrest details
Disciplining her children led to police involvement
Amanda said the cops didn't realize their overreaction: "At no point did they think to themselves, 'Oh, this is a little bit of an overreaction for a moment, confiscating temporarily her iPads and popping over to her mum's to have a coffee.'"
Surrey Police later confirmed Amanda had the right to confiscate the devices, but refused to apologize for their action.
Police statement
Chief Superintendent Aimee Ramm explains the arrest
Chief Superintendent Aimee Ramm, Northern Divisional Commander, explained the series of events.
Officers were first called to a Cobham home on March 26 when the safety of a person was in question.
While they were there, a man in his 40s reported two stolen iPads, prompting them to inquire at another address, where Amanda was asked where the iPads were, but denied knowing anything.
Custody experience
Arrest and release of Amanda Brown
Though Amanda denied knowing about the iPads, a tracking feature assisted officers in locating them.
Ramm said, "Officers encouraged the woman to return the items and resolve the matter; however, she did not cooperate and was arrested on suspicion of theft."
After her arrest, standard procedures, including fingerprinting and medical assessments, were followed.
After seven and a half hours in custody, Amanda was released on conditional bail with restrictions against contacting anyone related to the case, including her daughters.
Case closure
Police maintain their stance despite criticism
Next day, police confirmed that the iPads belonged to Amanda's children and she was within her rights to confiscate them. The case was closed.
Despite criticism from former police and crime commissioner Anthony Stansfield, Surrey Police maintained their decision not to apologize.
They clarified officers had visited Amanda's daughter's school only because they were initially concerned for her safety.