A child is in protective custody and his father is under arrest charged with child endangerment, for leaving the boy in the backseat of a car while he partied inside a City Heights bar.
A concerned citizen called 911 after seeing a child lying down in the back of a car, with the windows up, for hours.
San Diego police say they received that call just before 11pm from outside El Bar in the 3400-block of University Avenue.
Officers entered the bar and found the child’s father sitting at the bar where he had allegedly been drinking and under the influence of a controlled substance.
The man was immediately handcuffed, walked out of the bar and put into the backseat of a patrol car.
The arrest was caught on camera by a news photographer.
Officers found the 11-year-old right where the concerned 911 caller said the child would be - in the back of the man’s car.
“There were some empty, some open bottles, in the car. So, it's a win, win here," said Officer Charles Lara.
"Dad looked like he had been in the bar having a couple of drinks. Worst case scenario is, he gets behind the wheel and he drives, under the influence,” Lara said.
Local
The child is in protective custody at the Polinsky Children's Center. Officials are working to reunite the 11-year-old with his mother or another relative.
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