Toddler thrown onto freeway

[SusieMisajon]

Re: Toddler thrown onto freeway

And we've seen the results. Who's defending status quo? This is Hawaii State law. The legislature is in session. Seems like there's plenty of will to make changes.

Higa should not have been in public. Cyrus was just a child close by.

It's time for Cyrus' Law.

But what, exactly, would Cyrus' Law be?

[SusieMisajon]

Re: Toddler thrown onto freeway

Huh? I don't consider you an ignorant person, Susie, but you're the one making ignorant statements. The onus is on you to back them up...not me.

I was simply trying to make the point that sterilization isn't the answer...but got rather caught up in my own answers to you. I guess I shoulda said, from the start. Sorry.

[tutusue]

Re: Toddler thrown onto freeway

The parents of the man that threw the baby off the bridge should have been sterilized.

Please cite references that show Higa's parents knew there'd be a problem with their adult son prior to his conception.

Ah. Let me rephrase that: The grandparents of the baby should have been sterilized.

Once again...Please cite references that show the grandparents knew there'd be problems with their daughter's parenting skills prior to conceiving their daughter.

Only if you show me how it can be known that the baby would've grown up to be problematic and should never have been allowed to be conceived.

Huh? I don't consider you an ignorant person, Susie, but you're the one making ignorant statements. The onus is on you to back them up...not me.

[GeckoGeek]

Re: Toddler thrown onto freeway

The law says, unfortunately, that:

... it's almost impossible to meet that standard.

And we've seen the results. Who's defending status quo? This is Hawaii State law. The legislature is in session. Seems like there's plenty of will to make changes.

Higa should not have been in public. Cyrus was just a child close by.

It's time for Cyrus' Law.

[pzarquon]

Re: Toddler thrown onto freeway

State unsure of how to handle growing tributes

State officials are pondering what to do with Cyrus Belt's public memorial, which has attracted hundreds of people and piles of gifts in an outpouring of grief for the 23-month-old who was thrown from an H-1 pedestrian overpass Thursday.

"I can't recall the last time we had a roadside memorial of this magnitude," said Scott Ishikawa, Department of Transportation spokesman.

It has grown so large and attracts so many visitors and passers-by that it has become a safety issue.

As I said before, I have a fairly negative view of roadside memorials in general, but actually visited this one myself with my family when my wife felt strongly compelled to pay her respects. It's an experience I'm still processing.

I agree there's a significant safety issue here, both along Magellan Ave. (which people used to speed along as a poor bypass for the freeway below) and for drivers on the H-1 who can't help but take their eyes off the road to look up. I suspect the memorial will have to come down, perhaps several times, but for now... in all the chaos, there are a multitude of messages to be drawn.

[SusieMisajon]

Come on, he just threw a toddler off an overpass, smoked a fag and was arrested... and he's thanking (blaming?) the media for coverage of a death that happened years ago? That's a bit of a stretch.

That "thank you" tirade and the mannerisms from time of arrest to perp-walk struck me as crackhead all the way. If not complete lunacy...

I thought maybe it was a copycat of the murder a few days ago.

man a lot of you folks in this thread are just plain stupid.

How so? You get something better?

[PoiBoy]

Re: Toddler thrown onto freeway

man a lot of you folks in this thread are just plain stupid.

[dick]

Re: Toddler thrown onto freeway

What he shouted was, "Thanks very much for what you've done for my family." I'm only speculating, but I wonder if this isn't related to the high-profile death of his friend while they were racing, and the media's coverage of that.

Come on, he just threw a toddler off an overpass, smoked a fag and was arrested... and he's thanking (blaming?) the media for coverage of a death that happened years ago? That's a bit of a stretch.

That "thank you" tirade and the mannerisms from time of arrest to perp-walk struck me as crackhead all the way. If not complete lunacy...

[SusieMisajon]

Re: Toddler thrown onto freeway

Once again...Please cite references that show the grandparents knew there'd be problems with their daughter's parenting skills prior to conceiving their daughter.

Only if you show me how it can be known that the baby would've grown up to be problematic and should never have been allowed to be conceived.

[Glen Miyashiro]

Re: Toddler thrown onto freeway

Higa was known to the police. Apparently he was under mental health care. He demonstrated violent actions (breaking windows). And yet he was allowed out in public without supervision. Who is responsible for that?

If we are to seek prevention, we need to closely examine how society handles the menially ill. There was a time we could commit such people. But somewhere, their "rights" were asserted and many could not be committed against their will. This has had a direct result in the homeless we see. We have let the pendulum representing the balance of the mentally ill's rights swing too far at the expense of the public's rights.

This is what needs fixing.

The law says, unfortunately, that:

§334-60.2 Involuntary hospitalization criteria. A person may be committed to a psychiatric facility for involuntary hospitalization, if the court finds:

(1) That the person is mentally ill or suffering from substance abuse;

(2) That the person is imminently dangerous to self or others, is gravely disabled or is obviously ill; and

(3) That the person is in need of care or treatment, or both, and there is no suitable alternative available through existing facilities and programs which would be less restrictive than hospitalization. [L 1984, c 188, pt of §3; am L 1985, c 75, §2; am L 1986, c 335, §4]

HRS 344-60.2

Note that it says imminently dangerous. That word "imminently" is the problem -- it's almost impossible to meet that standard.

[GeckoGeek]

Re: Toddler thrown onto freeway

Yes, Cyrus's mother was a pathetic loser of a mom. Her crime in this incident was chronic neglect for the welfare of her son.

Correct. While she was hardly a model mom, the details that led to the baby's death is hardly unusual - she left the child in the hands of a trusted family member. A family member that didn't keep a constant eye on the child. Probably feeling that the child would be safe in their apartment. I doubt if that is unusual. I'm sure there's many caring parents to end up having to trust their family to watch their kids.

There is a lot that we all have in common regarding our collective attitude towards this tragedy: it was preventable.

We would like to think so. Hindsight being 20/20, it's easy to say coulda, woulda, shoulda. But what policy should we set to prevent something like this from happening again?

Looking over the CPS records, at what point should the child have been removed? Are you comfortable in setting that policy in all cases? Aren't we getting distracted by the family's history? We still don't know how Higa got a hold of the kid. The baby may have been standing at the door and Higa simply opened the door and took him. The families' criminal and drug background made no difference.

The only person directly responsible for the death is Higa. No matter how bad the kid's life, his actions are not defensible. Higa was known to the police. Apparently he was under mental health care. He demonstrated violent actions (breaking windows). And yet he was allowed out in public without supervision. Who is responsible for that?

If we are to seek prevention, we need to closely examine how society handles the menially ill. There was a time we could commit such people. But somewhere, their "rights" were asserted and many could not be committed against their will. This has had a direct result in the homeless we see. We have let the pendulum representing the balance of the mentally ill's rights swing too far at the expense of the public's rights.

This is what needs fixing.

[tutusue]

Re: Toddler thrown onto freeway

Ah. Let me rephrase that: The grandparents of the baby should have been sterilized.

Once again...Please cite references that show the grandparents knew there'd be problems with their daughter's parenting skills prior to conceiving their daughter.

[SusieMisajon]

Re: Toddler thrown onto freeway

Please cite references that show Higa's parents knew there'd be a problem with their adult son prior to his conception.

Ah. Let me rephrase that: The grandparents of the baby should have been sterilized.

[craigwatanabe]

Re: Toddler thrown onto freeway

craig, I agree with most everything you said except your conclusion, that the mother is more responsible for the death than Higa.

Yes, Cyrus's mother was a pathetic loser of a mom. Her crime in this incident was chronic neglect for the welfare of her son.

Taking your theory of what drove Higa to do what he did, his crime is pre-meditated murder.

That chronic neglect you mention is all the reason why she had a lot to do with her son's death. There's a nut case living upstairs from her. She get's hysterical just thinking Matthew Higa lives next to her. She leaves her toddler home while she goes to appointments.

When I went in for a final interview at KGU nine years ago I had to take my then three year old son Reyn with me. He was jumping around but thru it all I managed to impress the guys there. My feelings were no matter what I don't leave my kids alone.

But despite her concerns about her whacko neighbor she left him there in the care of whom she trusted to watch him. Obviously she made a bad choice of child care provider(s). I assume those appointments she had to go to were that much more important than, and the people she left Cyrus with were trusted enough to warrant leaving him for several hours. I can see a job interview or maybe even a job itself.

However she admitted being on drugs up until Cyrus' death. Job interview usually means drug test so I think it's safe to assume that she wasn't job hunting. Job possibly? Well if she's on drugs while employed...that tells us about how she values her job.

Either way whatever she was doing she ADMITTED she was still using drugs up until Cyrus' death. She's the sole custodial adult with a history with CPS and she's still taking drugs. Now her son's dead because she wasn't there to protect him, knowing full well of the hazzards of the demographic environment she left him in.

She may not have killed Cyrus...but she definately could have saved his life, but she wasn't there. At least a baby sitter typically has enough sense to watch a child...that's what you pay them for right? Her choice was a boyfriend who was more concerned about fixing a car rather than choosing a child care provider. BTW there are agencies out there that can help people find licensed child care providers that have the proper training to watch infant/toddlers, but she chose not to utilize them.

Her neglect and wrong choices allowed Cyrus to fall into the hands of someone she feared. She does bear a huge responsibility. Her level of neglect was so bad CPS had to get involved...remember? And she failed again resulting in the death of her son whom she was entrusted to protect.

That is true child neglect and the resulting death of Cyrus is a perfect example of how bad child neglect can become. She is responsible for allowing Cyrus to have been killed. She was the sole custodial parent.

I know that's a damning statement and I'll probably go to hell for saying that, but the fact remains...had she been there for Cyrus, none of this would have happened. But who could have known right? Well the red flags of neglect were fully there and nobody better than herself could have seen it.

[tutusue]

Re: Toddler thrown onto freeway

The parents of the man that threw the baby off the bridge should have been sterilized.

Please cite references that show Higa's parents knew there'd be a problem with their adult son prior to his conception.