Police: Son, 5, Was Hogtied
Man Didn’t ‘Believe In Spanking’ Child
A Santa Fe father has been arrested for hogtying his 5-year-old son — a method of discipline the dad said he used “because he doesn’t believe in spanking his child,” according to a police report.
Damon J. Gardner, 28, was charged with one count of child abuse after pol ice were cal led to his trailer home on Vegas Verde in south Santa Fe about 9 a.m. Thursday.
According to the arresting officer’s court statement, police were called to the residence for a “welfare check.” The 5-year-old’s uncle reported that he’d heard scuffling in the bathroom and the boy called out that his dad was tying him up. The uncle was able to get the bathroom door unlocked and saw the boy hogtied on the floor.
The uncle described the boy as tied with his hands
behind his back and his feet tied together. “The rope was then tied to his feet and hands causing his feet to bend behind him,” the police report states.
The boy’s mother also reported seeing the boy “lying face down on the bathroom floor, while being tied up.” She said the 5-year-old had been tied as described by the uncle.
After the uncle intervened, the mother was able to get her arms under the boy and set him down on a bed and, at that point, Gardner untied him.
Gardner told police he was disciplining his son because the boy had punched him in the stomach and was throwing things around. He said he decided to tie the boy up “to gain control of him because he doesn’t believe in spanking his child,” the officer’s report states. Gardner said he hadn’t intended to leave the boy “tied for very long” and said he hadn’t been able to complete the hogtie job before the uncle stopped him.
The uncle also reported that after he’d managed to get into the bathroom, Gardner told him to mind his own business “and stay out of his parenting skills” and that it would go “very (expletive) badly for all of them and the police” if the uncle called the police. Gardner and the uncle wrestled at one point in the confrontation.