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Amanda Cumpton hasn't added a story.
I don’t normally acknowledge my birthday let alone ask for anything.
The whole concept of a “fundraiser” is even slightly comical to me but
here I am filling out this form to ask for money. For anyone who knows
me personally you know what the past year has consisted of. I’m not
complaining because I had amazing support and everything finally
worked out for the best. For anyone who doesn’t know and would like to
hear my whirlwind of a story feel free to ask. (Details added at the
bottom feel free to ask any questions you may have) Hopefully the
chaos that has been the past seven months is behind us (Me, the kiddo,
the family, and all my amazingly supportive friends) and we can move
forward. We are in the process of finding a new place to settle and
once we do acquire one then we are going to need to furnish it. I
haven’t needed furniture of my own for quite some time so I don’t have
much as far as living rooms and kitchens go. I’m hoping $1500 is more
than enough to furnish a place, since I can be fairly frugal, no
matter though if by some strange chance people are generous enough
that we have money to spare I’m going to let the kiddo pick a charity
to donate it to. I’m even open to donated items rather than money. I
just know I’m going to need a whole lot of stuff for the new place.
(This is kind of a dual birthday request since the kiddo got
gypped on his from the whole ordeal so his room gets furnished first.
Pretty sure he out grew his bed)
Sharing:
Per request I have decided to tell my story I attempted to avoid it
for several reasons but after much thought and discussion I feel it is
best if I share not for me but for anyone who may come across this and
be in a similar situation or know someone who is. I am going to be
omitting names and a few details for the sake of others privacy. I
also ask if you know any of the parties involved to please respect
their privacy as well. My point is not to create judgment on anyone
but awareness and hope for those who need it.
Here it goes…
Several months ago I was spending a typical Saturday afternoon
at home with my son when there was a knock at the door. There was a
man claiming to be a police officer (he was in plain clothes no
uniform and was later verified as a cop) and stating that he was there
to take my son. When I informed him I was the custodial parent he told
me he had papers stating I was to turn my son over to my ex-husband. I
instantly informed him he could not enter the house, explained I had
no knowledge of what he was talking about, and that I would not force
my son to go anywhere. I had not seen or received any paper work at
this point and did not receive any for several more days. Once the
discussions were complete I attempted to shut the door at which point
he and the other officer (who arrived at a point I had shut the door
to go get paper work to show the officer) opened the storm door and
stopped me. I shut the door again and thinking it was locked proceeded
to go upstairs but before I could get to the first step I was being
tackled. I was forced to the ground and pinned there. One had his knee
in my back pinning one arm behind me and the other under me. The other
had my legs twisted and pushed towards my back. I stated several times
I was not resisting arrest they said that was exactly what I was
doing. They then told me to roll over at which I replied “I can’t
you’re on top of me.” They then picked me up and slammed me to the
ground. At that point they hand cuffed me and stood me up. When asked
where my son was I simply replied “I’m not helping you. I’m already
going to jail.” I am omitting a few things that occurred after since
they revolve around my son. After it was all said and done I was taken
to jail, booked, and released. The whole process took a few hours.
Thankfully I didn’t have to post bail. At this point I was just
overwhelmed with the whole situation but a simple text got me focused
and determined. “Now go get him back.” (You know who you are. You
helped me find the strength. I love you.) I started that night trying
to make sense of what had happened and why. I started speaking to
attorneys the very next day. I had lucked out; some friends had pulled
together and connected me to an office that was open on Sundays. My
legal battle was long (seven months) with many complications but
eventually it all worked out. The criminal charges against me were
dropped (here is a place where I would love to post the names of all
the people who contributed to that win), my ex-husband and I finally
came to an agreement, and a judge ruled I could take my son home.
The whole ordeal was time consuming and costly. I had a friend
help out tremendously but even that was not enough. For every paper
filed or email sent I had to pay. I had to make multiple trips to
court houses and to meetings over the case contributing to not only
gas cost but also lose of wages for missing work. I am still paying
fees and will continue to do so for a few more months from my
calculations. All very much worth it and I would never stop fighting
for my son.
I am very fortunate to have wonderful moral support from my
amazing friends, family, and coworkers. I cannot thank them enough.
For people who do not have such, please don’t lose hope because while
the system may be broken there are people out there trying to fix it.
I knew I had found the right people to help me because they were just
as upset and passionate about my case as I was. If you don’t have the
drive to fight then no one else will either. Find your courage and
people will fight with you because you shouldn’t expect anyone to
fight for you.
Cautionary tips:
- If someone claims to be an officer of the law demand to see
ID and you do not have to let them in your home. (If I had just let
them take my son no one would have known the proper procedures were
not followed and they would not have addressed the issue. Due to my
arrest they took action and are hoping to stop this from happening to
someone else.)
- Anyone stating they have legal paperwork should be able to supply you with a copy of said paperwork. Even if it is actually filed they typically cannot act on it till you are served.
- Even if the police are at your door do not be afraid to call and verify with someone above them that they are rightfully there.
- Know the laws of your state especially if you have kids and deal with custody issues.
- Keep copies of all legal paper work. Even if your attorney has a copy you should have a copy as well.
If you have any questions please do not hesitate to ask.
(This included more than one state, several judges, several
attorneys, and many court house visits.)
Perks
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