Texas Mom Arrested For Letting Children Play Outside

Ever let your kids play outside? If so, what kind of monster are you?

Tammy Cooper found out the hard way what happens when you let your kids scooter around your block in La Porte, Texas. You end up doing hard time. 

The stay-at-home mother's children, ages 9 and 6, were playing in their cul de sac while, she says, she was watching from a lawn chair in her front yard. 

But a nosy neighbor complained to the police that the children were unsupervised – and Cooper was promptly arrested for child endangerment.

"Orange jump suit, in a cell, slammed the door, for 18 hours," she told a local NBC affiliate. 

Plus: Tennessee Mom Arrested After Letting Kids Play Outside Unsupervised 

Cooper says she was outside the whole time and that the allegations are absurd. The charges were ultimately dropped – but the humiliation lingered. So Cooper filed a law suit against the city of La Porte Police Department, the arresting officer, and the neighbor who reportedly called the police. 

Oh, to be a fly on the wall at that particular block party.

Do you think Cooper is justified in filing suit? Also, regardless of whether Cooper let her kids play unsupervised, let us know how comfortable you feel about letting your kids play outside on their own.