OKLAHOMA CITY, OK (KCTV/KWTV) -
As the saying goes, "boys will be boys," but the mother of a 3-year-old balked at paying $2,500 for what her toddler did in his front yard.
Children who are potty training will go to the bathroom when they want to go, but for Dillan, he decided to be a big boy and stop what he was doing so he wouldn't wet his pull up.
"Dillan pulled down his pants to pee outside, I guess, and the cop pulled up and asked for my license and told me he was going to give me a ticket for public urination," said Ashley Warden, the boy's mother.
And of course, this all occurred in Piedmont, OK, leading to all sorts of jokes about the attempted tinkle.
Jennifer Warden, the toddler's grandmother, explained to the police that the boy was only a child. She said they informed her that it didn't matter, it was considered public urination.
"I said 'we are on our property,' and he said 'It was is in public view,'" Jennifer Warden said.
The family said the street is quite rural. They live on 2.5 acres and say the officer that wrote the ticket parks at the end of their street daily. The family asked why.
"He said this is a public street, and he wants to so he can," the boy's grandmother said.
So the Wardens filed a complaint with the police department.
"I am disappointed that the officer thinks this is what he needs to do with my tax dollars by sitting and harassing our family," Jennifer Warden said.
The boy's mother said as a courtesy the officer wrote down the cost of the ticket. It was $2,500.
"For $2,500 we should be able to pee anywhere," Jennifer Warden said.
Her plans to fighting the ticket since she says her son didn't actually finish the act drew international headlines.
And now the police chief is saying the officer should have handled the situation better. Mayor Valerie Thomerson said it was "stupid," and the situation has been rectified.
"I have heard more jokes about 'Peedmont' today, some of them have frankly been hilarious," Thomerson said.
"There are other ways to resolve something like that. I am a big believer in community policing and treating everybody with dignity and respect," said Chief Alex Oblein. "It's an embarrassment to the city of Piedmont absolutely. Do I still support our police officers? Absolutely, but not this."
Oblein went to the Wardens' home to personally apologize and say the ticket will be tossed out.
Both the chief and mayor said they would discuss the issue with the officer, but could not discuss it further since it is a personnel issue.
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