Saleem Martin, 21, faces charges including kidnapping and cruelty to children after officers used licence plate readers to find the vehicle within 15 minutes, the Atlanta Police Department said.
A two-year-old girl has been reunited with her parents unharmed after the car she was sitting in was stolen while her mother dropped off an Instacart order in Atlanta, Georgia. Police traced the vehicle within 15 minutes using the city’s licence plate readers, and body camera footage released on Friday shows officers ordering the suspect out before comforting the crying toddler. Saleem Martin, 21, has been charged with offences including kidnapping, theft and cruelty to children, the Atlanta Police Department said.
The child’s mother rang 911 on Thursday to report that her car had been taken with her daughter still in the back seat while she was making the delivery, according to a recording of the call. Investigators later determined the vehicle had been left with the engine running while the little girl was inside, police said.
Officers tracked the car down within a quarter of an hour with the help of licence plate readers across the city. In the body camera footage, officers can be seen approaching the vehicle and instructing the suspect to raise his hands and get out, before he is immediately handcuffed. The two-year-old can be heard crying as officers attempt to console her. She was found unharmed, police said.
According to the Atlanta Police Department, Martin has been charged with kidnapping, theft by taking, simple battery, entering an automobile, cruelty to children and criminal attempt to commit a felony. It was not clear whether he has legal representation.
The department has used the case to issue a safety warning to parents and caregivers. Sgt Tasheena Brown advised drivers to switch off the engine, take their keys and bring children with them, however brief the stop, noting that vehicles left running are a common target for thieves. Police added that anyone who sees a child alone in a running vehicle should call 911 immediately, saying the reminder was prompted by the successful recovery and was intended to prevent similar incidents.
