Officer Vasquez reported that as the children sat in the back of the cruiser, Sydney whimpered, “Where’s my mommy? . . . I’m just tired and I want my mommy.” Sydney and Justin stayed at the West L.A. station for almost five hours! Officer Vasquez, clearly a kind soul, tried to distract them with soda, candy, paper hats, paints. Over that long morning, she’d taught the children to spell their names in sign language and to play Hangman. “I like the Power Rangers because I’m a green belt in karate,” six-year-old Justin told her. “My mommy is going to start going with me again.”
