NORTH MIAMI BEACH, Fla. — Body camera video exclusively obtained by Local 10 News Wednesday shows the moment a 5-year-old boy flagged down police in a North Miami Beach neighborhood after telling officers that his mother had left him home by himself this past weekend.
Police later identified the boy’s mother as Britley Coraly Louis, 23, who was arrested in the case.
Officers said they encountered the boy just before 7 p.m. Saturday near the 1500 block of Northeast 181st Street while on routine patrol, according to an arrest report.
Police said the boy approached officers on the side of the street asking for help.
“He said his mom went to Walmart,” an officer is heard saying in the body camera video.
Officers tried to comfort the child while they searched for his mother.
“She didn’t tell you what tell time she’s gonna come back? We will find mommy, OK,” an officer was heard telling the boy.
Police said the boy was able to point out the home where he lives with his mother, about two houses away.
Officers knocked but received no answer.
“I’m going to leave the door open. I’m going to stay with you the whole time, OK,” an officer is heard telling the boy.
Investigators said they then checked the apartment and found troubling living conditions.
According to an arrest report, officers saw boxes stacked about 3 to 4 feet high, which they described as signs of hoarding, along with dirt, spiderwebs and rotten food residue throughout the home.
Police said spoiled food was also found in the refrigerator and the smell was “extremely unbearable.”
Authorities said they were unable to reach Louis for several hours.
Meanwhile, officers continued trying to keep the boy calm by singing the alphabet song with him.
Police said they first encountered the boy just before 8 p.m. Several hours later, investigators said Louis contacted authorities and told them a friend would pick up the boy.
But police said that friend never arrived and later told investigators she was not comfortable taking the child and did not know where the mother was.
The boy was eventually turned over to the Florida Department of Children and Families.
Police later located Louis at her home and arrested her without incident.
Jail records show she is facing one count each of child neglect without great bodily harm and unlawful desertion of a child.
During a bond hearing, a judge ordered Louis to stay away from her son.
She did not appear in the Miami-Dade jail website as of Wednesday afternoon.
Police told Local 10’s Rosh Lowe that the boy is now in the custody of the Department of Children and Families.
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