u/modooff

>Officials who separated former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg from his young twins last month relied on a vague and unsubstantiated allegation from an accuser authorities later deemed possibly “mentally unstable,” according to previously unreported police records.

>Child welfare experts who reviewed the documents at The Post’s request said they illuminate a flawed process that was made worse by poor judgment by agencies and a lack of communication among investigators from two states.

>Michigan police waited six days after approaching Buttigieg to attempt to identify the caller.

>Vivek Sankaran, a professor at the University of Michigan Law School and child advocacy law expert, said he was troubled that Michigan State Police went to Buttigieg’s door with such a vague allegation that didn’t present any indication that children were imminently at risk.

>“At the very least, it’s incredibly poor investigative work. I would even say reckless, in light of how harmful this is for the family,” Sankaran said.

>The Michigan attorney general’s office has opened an investigation of the allegation against Buttigieg and how it was handled, spokeswoman Kimberly Bush told The Post.

>“Common sense would have shown that this targeted report plainly lacked credibility on its face,” Bush said. “Before children are separated from their families, due diligence should be exercised to ensure some nexus exists between the source and the family, or that the complaint comes from a reputable, reliable, or verifiable source. We have requested the Michigan State Police turn over all evidence at the completion of their investigation and will zealously investigate all leads, policies and procedures that allowed for such a flagrant violation of the Buttigiegs’ privacy.”

>After receiving a partially redacted copy of the Michigan State Police report that referenced a Facebook post by the caller, The Post was able to identify and contact the woman, who said she lived in Alabama. Public records show she has also lived in Indiana.

>In a phone call, she was unable to answer basic questions about her accusations. She acknowledged that she made reports about Buttigieg to authorities but declined to say to whom.

>The woman said a sergeant from the Indiana State Police had since called her and was “harassing” her. Indiana State Police spokesperson Ron Galaviz confirmed an ongoing investigation of an allegation of false reporting but said he was unable to comment further.

https://archive.is/UbKxz

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