Mom’s Not Mad; She’s Just Disappointed

I’m a police officer. We’re called to intervene at a party where kids were being rowdy. We get there, and most of the kids scurry off the moment they spot our car. One, a minor, is so drunk that he almost passes out. After we have him checked out medically, we put him in a chair and prepare to make a call. Minors can only be locked up if there is a very, very, very good reason to.

Boy: *Slurring* “Dude, can I lie down? Do I have to stay? Will you put me in jail?”

Me: “Don’t worry, you get to sleep in your own bed.”

Boy: “Am I in trouble?”

Me: “Yes, you are.”

Boy: “Oh… Will you put me in jail? Are you calling jail? I don’t want to go to jail.”

Me: “No, I’m just going to call your mother.”

The boy suddenly stares with eyes wide open, turning even paler than he already was. 

Boy: “Can’t… Can’t you just put me in jail?”

His mother picked him up, in silence. When we followed up with this case, he was disciplined correctly — we wanted to make sure he wasn’t afraid of his mother because of abuse — and he was signed up for a disciplinary course about alcohol.