NC officer accused of locking daughter wearing only a blanket in his car outside a bar
The 8-year-old daughter of a police officer in North Carolina was reportedly locked inside his car while he and his wife were inside a taproom during an Oktoberfest celebration, according to media outlets.
Now the officer is under investigation by the Wilmington Police Department, where he is a lieutenant.
Matthew Malone’s daughter was allegedly naked and wrapped in a blanket asking to use the bathroom when someone found her in the parking lot behind Ogden Tap Room on Oct. 19 in Wilmington, the Port City Daily reported.
A spokesperson for Wilmington police told McClatchy news group Tuesday the department couldn’t comment “due to the ongoing internal investigation.” Malone did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
In an audio recording of the 911 call shared by the Port City Daily, the caller said the child had been told not to leave the locked vehicle. The caller was unsure how long she was left there.
“It’s amazing the stuff you have to call the police for nowadays, isn’t it,” the caller, who is not identified, is heard telling a dispatcher.
WECT reported the incident occurred around 5:45 p.m. while an Oktoberfest celebration was held inside the taproom.
Spokesperson Lt. Jerry Brewer of the New Hanover County Sheriff’s Office told the Daily that two deputies were dispatched. The 911 call shared by the newspaper was reportedly one of several they received.
Brewer did not immediately respond to McClatchy news group’s request for comment.
Malone and his wife told deputies their daughter’s clothes got wet, after which one of them took her to the car to remove them, WECT reported. She was then reportedly wrapped in a blanket before the parent returned to the taproom.
The sheriff’s office told WECT “the incident didn’t meet the criteria for misdemeanor child abuse.”
But the case was turned over to the Pender County Department of Social Services, where the family reportedly lives, according to the media outlet.
The Daily reported the district attorney was also consulted but no charges were brought.
This story was originally published October 29, 2019 at 2:15 PM.
