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Teen visiting Houston for dance classes taken into CPS custody

Edit: Picture added form second news source so that I'm not "omitting" things in case you don't read the link.



HOUSTON — Landry Thompson loves to dance, and the 13-year-old’s dance instructors get a kick out of it too.

“It definitely is life to me,” said Emmanuel Hurd. “It means the world. It’s everything to me.”

That’s why the trio from Oklahoma traveled to Houston in the first place. To spend the weekend dancing and training with some of the industry’s best.

But that dream of a visit took an ugly turn shortly after leaving the studio Saturday night, when the group, exhausted from their work, stopped off at nearby gas station.

“We were on the GPS trying to figure out where the hotel was. And we sat there and we dozed off.”

They said before they knew it, the police showed up and surrounded the car.

“And so I was kind of freaked out and surprised by it,” said Landry.

“They just pulled us out of the car and put our hands behind our backs like we were criminals,” added Hurd.

“The officer asked me 'who’s the girl?' and I said 'she’s my student,'” said Hurd.

“I told him I had a notarized letter from her parents stating that we have full guardianship over her while we’re here.”

All three dancers said say they pleaded with the police repeatedly telling them their story, but that in the end, none of that seemed to matter.”

“They still put handcuffs on me and it really scared me,” said Landry. “And they put me in the back of a cop car and I was terrified.”

Landry was taken to Child Protective Services. Her mom couldn’t believe it when she found out.

“I was horrified,” said Destiny Thompson. “She was with the people I wanted her to be with. She was with people I trusted. And now she was taken away from those people and in a shelter with people I didn’t know.”

Thompson claimed she was told she’d have to fly to Houston to get her daughter out. But 11 hours later, following repeated phone calls to officials, Landry was released back into the custody of her instructors.

“I would love an apology,” said Destiny.

Police officials still aren’t commenting about what happened.

The group of dancers plans to return to Oklahoma Monday afternoon.

People from OK should stay the feth out of Texas anyway.

“I would love an apology,” said Destiny.

Yes. Your parents should apologize for giving you a stripper name.

Good Ol' Murrica. Jumping to the wrong conclusions and usually the ones that presume the people to be guilty of crimes.

 kronk wrote:
People from OK should stay the feth out of Texas anyway.

“I would love an apology,” said Destiny.

Yes. Your parents should apologize for giving you a stripper name.

Agreed on both counts. We don't tolerate no Okies in Houston, trying to outflat the flattest city in the USA. Plus her parents should be sued by Destiny's child for IP violations.

" They sell one of your brands you break two of theirs. Its our way, the GW way."
-not Sean Connery.

-So three people fall asleep in their car at a gas station.
-Police arrive to three people sleeping in a car.
-It turns out that one of the three is a minor
-There is a notarized letter (I'm presuming from an out-of-State notary public) saying that the adults have temporary custody.
-The three are taken into custody/CPS while the story is confirmed.
-Once confirmed they are released.

 kronk wrote:

“I would love an apology,” said Destiny.

Yes. Your parents should apologize for giving you a stripper name.

Classic Kronk

 Dreadclaw69 wrote:
-So three people fall asleep in their car at a gas station.
-Police arrive to three people sleeping in a car.
-It turns out that one of the three is a minor
-There is a notarized letter (I'm presuming from an out-of-State notary public) saying that the adults have temporary custody.
-The three are taken into custody/CPS while the story is confirmed.
-Once confirmed they are released.

White girl with two black men are sleeping in a car.


The fact that there is a notarized letter and presumably contact information for the mother means that it should not have taken 11 hours for the girl to be released from CPS back to the instructors and it should not have taken more than three hours for the "story" to be confirmed.

 kronk wrote:
People from OK should stay the feth out of Texas anyway.

“I would love an apology,” said Destiny.

Yes. Your parents should apologize for giving you a stripper name.

 Kanluwen wrote:

 Dreadclaw69 wrote:
-So three people fall asleep in their car at a gas station.
-Police arrive to three people sleeping in a car.
-It turns out that one of the three is a minor
-There is a notarized letter (I'm presuming from an out-of-State notary public) saying that the adults have temporary custody.
-The three are taken into custody/CPS while the story is confirmed.
-Once confirmed they are released.

White girl with two black men are sleeping in a car.


The fact that there is a notarized letter and presumably contact information for the mother means that it should not have taken 11 hours for the girl to be released from CPS back to the instructors and it should not have taken more than three hours for the "story" to be confirmed.

I hate to say it, but I agree with Kanluwen.

 Kanluwen wrote:

 Dreadclaw69 wrote:
-So three people fall asleep in their car at a gas station.
-Police arrive to three people sleeping in a car.
-It turns out that one of the three is a minor
-There is a notarized letter (I'm presuming from an out-of-State notary public) saying that the adults have temporary custody.
-The three are taken into custody/CPS while the story is confirmed.
-Once confirmed they are released.

White girl with two black men are sleeping in a car.

The fact that there is a notarized letter and presumably contact information for the mother means that it should not have taken 11 hours for the girl to be released from CPS back to the instructors and it should not have taken more than three hours for the "story" to be confirmed.

I didn't click on the link, I read d-usa's text trusting that nothing had been omitted. Regardless of that I'm not certain why you're pointing out the girl's race. It was of no consequence to me, and not mentioned by me

I agree that it should not have taken as long as it did for the story to be confirmed and the three released.
I think that we'd need to know;
- How long it took before the mother was contacted and spoken with
- How long it usually takes to retrieve a child from CPS during the night, having just been given into their custody
- Other factors that may have slowed down the release

 Mr. Burning wrote:

 kronk wrote:
People from OK should stay the feth out of Texas anyway.

“I would love an apology,” said Destiny.

Yes. Your parents should apologize for giving you a stripper name.

Predictable as always Kronk, but still funny.

 Kanluwen wrote:

 Dreadclaw69 wrote:
-So three people fall asleep in their car at a gas station.
-Police arrive to three people sleeping in a car.
-It turns out that one of the three is a minor
-There is a notarized letter (I'm presuming from an out-of-State notary public) saying that the adults have temporary custody.
-The three are taken into custody/CPS while the story is confirmed.
-Once confirmed they are released.

White girl with two black men are sleeping in a car.


The fact that there is a notarized letter and presumably contact information for the mother means that it should not have taken 11 hours for the girl to be released from CPS back to the instructors and it should not have taken more than three hours for the "story" to be confirmed.

There wasn't any grounds for taking anyone in at all. There wasn't grounds for questioning them. It should have taken exactly -1 seconds, as the incident shouldn't have happened. Like, having a different skin color than the people you are around isn't crime and sure as hell shouldn't be considered suspect behavior.

I'm of mixed ancestry but very fair skinned, a lot of people just assume I'm white. My own mother (as in the lady who shoved me out her vagina), has had deal with with this kind of bull when I was kid. This was disgusting and groundless.
Yikes.

 Dreadclaw69 wrote:

 Kanluwen wrote:

 Dreadclaw69 wrote:
-So three people fall asleep in their car at a gas station.
-Police arrive to three people sleeping in a car.
-It turns out that one of the three is a minor
-There is a notarized letter (I'm presuming from an out-of-State notary public) saying that the adults have temporary custody.
-The three are taken into custody/CPS while the story is confirmed.
-Once confirmed they are released.

White girl with two black men are sleeping in a car.

The fact that there is a notarized letter and presumably contact information for the mother means that it should not have taken 11 hours for the girl to be released from CPS back to the instructors and it should not have taken more than three hours for the "story" to be confirmed.

I didn't click on the link, I read d-usa's text trusting that nothing had been omitted.

There is a video of the people involved at the link. If it was a simple picture I would have linked it .

Regardless of that I'm not certain why you're pointing out the girl's race. It was of no consequence to me, and not mentioned by me

The race of the people involved is what makes the story news-worthy, it's also why the title of the thread includes a mention of racist.

I agree that it should not have taken as long as it did for the story to be confirmed and the three released.
I think that we'd need to know;
- How long it took before the mother was contacted and spoken with

Why is there a need to contact the mother when the guardians of the girl are standing right in front of them?
Why was the child taken into custody before anybody even spoke with her mother?

- How long it usually takes to retrieve a child from CPS during the night, having just been given into their custody
- Other factors that may have slowed down the release

Irrelevant considering that she should never have been placed to begin with.

Dreadclaw69 wrote:

 Kanluwen wrote:

 Dreadclaw69 wrote:
-So three people fall asleep in their car at a gas station.
-Police arrive to three people sleeping in a car.
-It turns out that one of the three is a minor
-There is a notarized letter (I'm presuming from an out-of-State notary public) saying that the adults have temporary custody.
-The three are taken into custody/CPS while the story is confirmed.
-Once confirmed they are released.

White girl with two black men are sleeping in a car.

The fact that there is a notarized letter and presumably contact information for the mother means that it should not have taken 11 hours for the girl to be released from CPS back to the instructors and it should not have taken more than three hours for the "story" to be confirmed.

I didn't click on the link, I read d-usa's text trusting that nothing had been omitted. Regardless of that I'm not certain why you're pointing out the girl's race. It was of no consequence to me, and not mentioned by me

I agree that it should not have taken as long as it did for the story to be confirmed and the three released.
I think that we'd need to know;
- How long it took before the mother was contacted and spoken with
- How long it usually takes to retrieve a child from CPS during the night, having just been given into their custody
- Other factors that may have slowed down the release

The reason I point out the girl's race is that you need to understand that in the Southern United States, racism is still very much alive and well.

And everywhere else in the states.

 kronk wrote:
People from OK should stay the feth out of Texas anyway.

“I would love an apology,” said Destiny.

Yes. Your parents should apologize for giving you a stripper name.

Agreed on first point...

A bit of contention on the second one: It's not QUITE a stripper name.. I mean, it's got the requisite pronunciation, however, it is spelled with a Y, not an I (little known fact, ALL strippers are either named after cars, or they spell their name ending in I, such as Porsche, Mercedes, Candi, etc.)

I'm just impressed that three people fell asleep simultaneously in a fueling station parking lot. They must have been... running on empty?

 Ensis Ferrae wrote:

A bit of contention on the second one: It's not QUITE a stripper name.. I mean, it's got the requisite pronunciation, however, it is spelled with a Y, not an I (little known fact, ALL strippers are either named after cars, or they spell their name ending in I, such as Porsche, Mercedes, Candi, etc.)

I have been corrected. My bad!

From what I understand the main racial element comes from when the police contacted the family, namely they apparently asked about their white daughter being with two black men, and then criticized them about it.

If not for that, the police could have had some cover, saying they were simply investigating a minor being with two adults, but they went too far.

Of course, the police who were involved in this will likely have nothing happen to them. Maybe a one week suspension, and then right back on the job.

 Frazzled wrote:
I hate to say it, but I agree with Kanluwen.

Why hate to say it? -- it's just good old fashioned authentic conservatism (suspicion of state power)! I agree with him, too.

Dammit texas, not again...

 juraigamer wrote:
Dammit texas, not again...

Not again? You live in Virginia home of the CSA.

You can make a strong argument to interview them (two adult males/minor child, out of state plates, and yes different ethnicity), but once they've done that then the three should have been cleared.

Well, I mean, it's Texas + CPS. I'd be surprised to hear stuff like this doesn't happen more often.

Pfft this is nothing for Houston PD. They don't get punished for shooting of unarmed BGs. This is cake to that...
At least it wasn't Harris County Deputies. They'd still be in jail with the paperwork of the arrest lost...
On the positive they have cool horses downtown.

 DogofWar1 wrote:
From what I understand the main racial element comes from when the police contacted the family, namely they apparently asked about their white daughter being with two black men, and then criticized them about it.

If not for that, the police could have had some cover, saying they were simply investigating a minor being with two adults, but they went too far.

Absolute agreement with you there.

That girll looks like a druggie and the boys look like hoodlums.

 hotsauceman1 wrote:
That girll looks like a druggie and the boys look like hoodlums.

Please let this be sarcasm

O.o

They are making 13yr olds look like 16yr olds now a days jeez...

From that one pic alone she looks like a potential runaway. What did they look like at the time?

 Frazzled wrote:
From that one pic alone she looks like a potential runaway. What did they look like at the time?

I'd imagine that sleeping in their car at a gas station may not have helped

 hotsauceman1 wrote:
That girll looks like a druggie and the boys look like hoodlums.

Why?

I see guys in shirts (and a hat) with matching insignias, their pants appear to be pulled up, and their clothes aren't overly baggy. Other than the hat with the bill not bent, that's not far from how I'm dressed when I'm not at work, and I'm an old white guy.

Why does she look like a druggie? Because she's thin and glaring out of the corner of her eye at the camera?

Profiling is interesting to me.