POUGHKEEPSIE – A standoff between a mother and deputies from the Dutchess County Sheriff’s Office at the Dutchess County Office of Community and Family Services (DCFS) ended peacefully after a nearly three-hour ordeal.
On Tuesday at around noon, the mother began live streaming the situation on a social media platform. Holding her child in one arm and phone in the other, she began verbally abusing deputies and DCFS staff, angered because she had been told she could not leave the building with her child.
The mother had been in the building for a supervised visit with her child and attempted to leave with the child, in violation of a court order. Deputies and DCFS staff blocked the exit, preventing their departure. At one point, the deputy assigned to the DCFS building can be seen holding up the court order for the mother to see.
After approximately three hours of negotiating with DCSO, the mother reluctantly turned over custody of the child to DCFS staffers.
Describing the situation, DCSO Captain John Watterson said “No one was injured and we are extremely grateful for such a successful outcome to a very tense situation.”
