Randall Sears
Police said a heavily intoxicated man was in the middle of a busy Chattanooga street with his one-year-old daughter, and she almost got hit by several cars.
Randall Sears, 49, of 3103 E. 30th St., was charged with child neglect, reckless endangerment, public intoxication and obstruction of a roadway.
In the incident on Saturday, a caller said a black male was lying in the middle of the road and a young child was standing around him.
A witness at the scene said the man was either very drunk or mentally unstable.
An officer spotted a black male "walking in the middle of a very busy street" (E. 29th Street). He was carrying a very young child over his shoulder.
The man, who was ordered to hand the child over to police, emitted a strong odor of an intoxicant, was barefoot as was the child, had slurred speech, could barely walk and barely articulate.
Police said several vehicles had been blocking traffic in an effort to protect the child. An officer was told that two vehicles had come up on the scene and almost hit the girl.
At one point, the man grabbed the child up by her hair, it was stated.
Officers went to the residence of Sears and found the mother, Alena Mackay. She said the child was in the custody of her boyfriend (Sears).
Police said she seemed more concerned about Sears going to jail than about the welfare of the child.
The child was returned to the mother, and Child Protective Services was called.