An Australian mother has spoken of the ‘humiliating’ moment she was quizzed by police who mistakenly thought her little boy had suffered severe sunburn on a family day out.
Casey Weightman, 29, from Victoria, was shocked to be approached by officers when she and her husband Justin took their young son, Chaz – who suffers from a condition called Netherton syndrome – to see a supercar race in Adelaide.
The rare hereditary disorder means Chaz, three, suffers from dry, red and flaking skin.
Casey Weightman (pictured with her husband and son) was left feeling ‘humiliated’ when she was quizzed by police who mistakenly thought her little boy had suffered severe sunburn
Chaz (pictured) suffers from a rare condition called Netherton syndrome – which causes him to suffer from dry, red and flaking skin
Speaking to Take5 magazine about the day in question, Ms Weightman explained the couple were in the grandstand with their sleeping boy in a pram when a concerned bystander asked if they wanted some suncreen or water for him.
‘”No thanks”, I replied,’ Ms Weightman said. ‘”He has a syndrome which makes his skin look sunburnt”.
‘He eyed me suspiciously. I was shocked,’ she added.
Soon after, the mother said she was approached by a security guard who asked if the family required a medic – leaving her ‘on the verge of tears’.
‘Humiliated, I burst into tears while trying to explain that I hadn’t let me little boy get sunburnt, he had a syndrome,’ the distraught mother said
Ms Weightman said it was only when the police made checks with Chaz’s medical practitioners that they realised she was telling the truth
‘Chaz woke and I’d just started feeding him when three police officers came over,’ she went on.
She said the officers told her that medical help was on its way.
‘Humiliated, I burst into tears while trying to explain that I hadn’t let me little boy get sunburnt, he had a syndrome,’ she said.
Ms Weightman said it was only when the police made checks with Chaz’s medical specialists that they realised she was telling the truth.
She said she was sick of ‘defending’ herself and her little boy – and called on others not to be ‘so quick to judge’
he mother said she now has a letter from her son’s specialist and special cards printed that explain his situation and more about Netherton syndrome
Brushing the incident off as a one-time occurrence, the family returned to the racetrack the next day.
‘Within 30 minutes of returning, a woman glared at us and got on her phone,’ she said.
‘Police soon approached us and we were humiliated all over again until they contacted the officers from the day before.’
She said she was sick of ‘defending’ herself and her little boy – and called on others not to be ‘so quick to judge’.
Following the incidents, the mother said she now has a letter from her son’s specialist which she carries with her.
She also had special cards printed that explain Chaz’s situation and more about Netherton syndrome.
‘I appreciate people are concerned, but please don’t be so quick to judge,’ Ms Weightman said
‘Justin and I love our little boy with all our heart. We’d never do anything to hurt him,’ she added
The cards say: ‘No, I’m not sunburnt. I have a rare skin condition’.
‘I appreciate people are concerned, but please don’t be so quick to judge,’ Ms Weightman said.
‘Justin and I love our little boy with all our heart. We’d never do anything to hurt him.’