Video: Police confront mother accused of smoking drugs in car with child inside
NEWNAN, Ga. - A young mother was arrested at a Newnan grocery store parking lot for allegedly smoking a powerful narcotic with her young son in the car.
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While other families were grocery shopping with their children at a Newnan supermarket, police accused the young mother of endangering the life of a toddler, a two-year-old little boy, both in subjecting him to the fumes of the narcotic and then possibly driving while under in the influence.
In police body camera video released to FOX 5 News, 23-year-old Courtney Lauren Hannah was heard denying that she has drugs in her car but was apparently admitting to drug paraphernalia associated with the type of behavior she was accused of.
"I swear that's all I've got is some foil and a straw. I don't have any drugs on me," Hannah said in the video.
Newnan Police said a 911 caller reported seeing Hanna smoking drugs with a child in her car at the parking lot of the Food Depot on Temple Avenue in Newnan on March 19.
In the video, police said Hannah later admitted to police that she had what is known as a Roxy, an Oxycodone tablet. But she denied smoking in the car in front of her child.
Police said her 2-year-old son was strapped into a child seat in the back of the passenger car.
"You're doing this stuff right here with a kid in the car?" the officer was heard to say.
"No, I wasn't doing it just then, I would never do it within the car with him. I swear to god," Hannah responded.
Police said Hannah hands were covered in soot and they found a half-burnt Oxycodone pill in the car. They've charged her with possession of narcotics and with reckless behavior for endangering her child.
Police said Hannah's son was turned over to the child's grandparents.
On social media, many people were condemning the young mother, while others in this community who said they used to know her and knew the person they said she was were encouraging her to seek help and to turn her life around.
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