Background: A section of the 7100 block of Wood Carriage Lane in Leeds, Alabama (Google Maps). Inset: Christie Williams (Jefferson County Jail).
After a child ran down an Alabama street calling for help, police learned that her mother had sprayed her and her sibling with bear spray, authorities say.
Christie Williams, 36, is charged with torture or the willful abuse of a child, Jefferson County Jail records reviewed by Law&Crime show. She was booked into the detention center on Monday.
On March 8 at about 1:45 p.m., a child was running down the 7100 block of Wood Carriage Lane in Leeds, Alabama, yelling for help, according to charging documents reviewed by AL.com. Someone called 911, reporting that the child”s eyes were red and her face was puffy.
“She was crying for help,” Leeds Police Chief Paul Irwin said. Officers with the Leeds Police Department responded to the street, went to the child’s home, and brought her and her sibling, both of whom were of elementary school age, to an area hospital for medical evaluation.
Both children reportedly said that their mother sprayed them with bear spray in the eyes and mouth.
“I think it’s terrible,” Irwin told the local outlet. “I don’t think you should be punishing your children with a spray that can be used on a bear. That’s not to be used on humans.”
Bear spray is typically considered stronger than traditional pepper spray, and, if used at very close range, can cause permanent eye damage.
Williams was arrested on Monday. She allegedly stated that her children were being unruly.
She was released on $15,000 bond hours after being booked in the jail. The children were reportedly placed in the custody of child welfare workers.
