HASKELL, Okla. — A video sparked outrage on social media of a foster child in Haskell.
It shows the child in pajamas, without shoes or a coat, begging to come inside. Police reports state it was 12 degrees at the time of the incident.
Rhet Wike, a neighbor who recorded the incident, said he heard the child’s pleas from inside his house and grabbed his phone to call the police. He said while he was on the phone with authorities, the foster dad at the home opened the door to talk to the child.
“He’s telling her ‘no, no, you gotta stop whining,’ and she is trying to push through him,” said Wike. “He placed her back outside, and he went back inside.”
WATCH: Here's the video he shot:
According to Wike, the little girl was outside roughly 10 to 15 minutes.
According to the probable cause affidavit 2 News obtained from the Haskell Police Department, the foster mom told police the girl was outside for no longer than two minutes and the girl refused to wear shoes. The mother told police the girl was outside for a disciplinary time out.
WATCH: 2 News full story:
“In decent weather with shoes, sure, that makes sense; go sit down and think about it for a second,” said Wike. “But to shove them out into a blizzard?”
Wike said he shared the video because he thought more eyes would mean a bigger impact. He thinks the girl needs to be in a safer place.
“Someone is going to be held accountable for sure,” said Wike. “If you have enough people who know what’s going on, someone is going to do something about it.”
Police said they told the family their disciplinary methods were not weather-appropriate.
According to the affidavit, an OKDHS representative was on the scene the day after the incident and told police, “they have no concerns for the health and well-being of the children in the home and that the method for ‘resetting’… was likely more effective at reaching a resolution than forcing the child to put shoes on.”
Haskell police submitted a child abuse complaint to the Muskogee County District Attorney to consider charges.
OKDHS emailed the following statement:
"The safety and wellbeing of our state's children, particularly those in foster care, are top priorities for Oklahoma Human Services. We are aware of this situation but are unable to offer additional details at this time. However, we want to reassure the public all safety concerns related to this situation are being addressed."
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