A 24-year-old man faces several charges after placing his child on the pavement and fleeing from police during a traffic stop early Thursday, an official said.
Kenneth Brooks was stopped about 1 a.m. Thursday after Texarkana, Ark., police officers saw the vehicle he was driving had fictitious and expired vehicle tags, said Kristi Bennett, police spokeswoman. The vehicle was leaving the Knights Inn Motel in the 5100 block of North State Line Avenue.
Upon stopping Brooks, officers noticed a 16-month-old child standing in the vehicle's back seat, Bennett said.
"During the contact, Brooks exited the vehicle holding his child, then sat his child down on the pavement and fled from officers. Officer Tanner Freeman and Nathan Lavender chased Brooks on foot apprehending him in a nearby apartment complex. Officer Cobin Brown remained at the scene with the abandoned child," Bennett stated in a press release.
In addition to being arrested on an endangering the welfare of a minor charge, Brooks also faces two counts of possession of a controlled substance (amphetamine and clonazepam) and fleeing charges.
The child was placed into DHS custody after exhausting all efforts to locate a relative.