New bodycam video revealed the moment that Hialeah Police officers encountered a 13-year-old child chained to a fence at a home.
The incident took place at a home in Hialeah near 355 West 63rd Street and Fourth Avenue. According to Hialeah Police, 34-year-old Yashira Maldonado tied her special needs daughter to a fence using a metal chain after being fired from her job on Jul. 11.
The video shows the moment that officers encountered the child and her great-grandmother, after the great-grandmother had called 911 to report the incident.
Officers said that the child was chained at her waist by Maldonado and was left at the scene. She was then found by the great-grandmother, who called police after she was unable to remove the chain.
Investigators said that Maldonado put her phone on silent after being fired from her job and went home to lay in bed and watch TV.
A 911 call from the child’s father, who was out of town at the time of the incident, was also released.
“You are talking to the police in Hialeah, how can I help?” said a dispatcher.
“My daughter lives down in Hialeah, Florida. I just got a call from my [ex-wife’s] mother saying that she found my daughter abandoned in an apartment and tied to a chain,” he said.
Pictures taken at the scene also showed the chain and fence from the home, as well as a backpack and shoes that were left with the child.
Maldonado was arrested and is facing felony charges of child abuse and neglect. She has since bonded out of jail.
