Two parents were arrested after police said that, while they were intoxicated, they forced their kids to walk in triple-digit heat.
Ryan and May Mullin were seen walking their two young children around 6 p.m. on Aug. 9 near 91st and Montebello avenues in Glendale. The outside temperature at the time was 108 degrees, but the high for Glendale that day was 111 degrees, according to a report released by Glendale police.
A woman called police, saying the pair appeared to be intoxicated, and Ryan was stumbling, crossing the street without the kids and falling over one of them, according to the report.
The woman told police that she approached the couple in her vehicle and offered them a ride to avoid the heat. But Ryan became angry, started punching
her vehicle, fell and hit his face, according to the report. He had a cut on his face and was bleeding, the report said.
Ryan made it clear he did not want her help, the woman told police. She said she wanted him charged with disorderly conduct.
The woman alerted police to where Ryan went. An officer approached Ryan holding a young boy's hand in a neighborhood, according to the report and police body camera footage, and Ryan was extremely slurred in his speech.
Ryan was bleeding from his face, the report said, and the officer had to threaten to use force so he could let go of the boy. When he finally did, the officer had to wrestle with Ryan to get him in handcuffs, the report said.
Ryan insulted the officer several times, including saying he was a "(expletive) idiot," and struggled to explain how he got hurt, the report said. An officer noted in the report that Ryan emitted a strong alcohol scent.
When officers spoke with May, she said the group had been walking for three hours and that they had left for the Arizona Cardinals game around 2:40 p.m.
The football team had a 4 p.m. training camp that day, which was open to the public. In body-camera footage, the whole family was donning Cardinals' gear.
May told police the children had two bottles of water, according to the report, but she was holding one that was half full.
The boy's face was very red, according to the report. While an officer was trying to calm down the boy, who had been crying, Ryan said, "(Expletive) that child," the report said.
Ryan said he wanted to go home, which he said was nearby. But police said Ryan was incorrectly answering questions about where they were and where his house was.
An officer said they determined the couple put their children in danger, including by not figuring out how to better get the kids out of the heat, the report said. It also wasn't clear whether the parents knew where they were going other than the general direction of their home, the report said.
State Farm Stadium, where the Cardinals held their practice, is less than one mile away from where the woman who called police had interacted with the family.
An officer said in the report they were concerned with leaving the children with just one parent, like May, because of her intoxicated state. The mother arranged for the children's godfather to pick the kids up.
In a post-arrest interview, the pair disclosed to police the alcohol they had consumed. Ryan said he had two margaritas, about 12 ounces each, at the Cardinals practice, and May said she had one Cutwater canned cocktail and a margarita, the report said.
May told police she understood why the woman who offered them a ride was concerned, since the kids looked "flushed," but claimed the woman had closed the door on the family, according to the report.
Ryan was booked on suspicion of disorderly conduct and child abuse while May was booked on suspicion of child abuse, the report said.
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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Parents accused of being intoxicated and walking kids in Arizona heat
