A 3-year-old had to go potty, so he went in a gas station parking lot. That's when a deputy cited his mom for disorderly conduct.

Wednesday, April 3, 2019

News 12 at 6 O'Clock

RICHMOND COUNTY, GA (WRDW/WAGT) -- Potty training can be a stressful time for any parent, but what happened to a Beech Island woman with her 3-year-old son is next level stress.

So, let’s talk about little Cohen Johns. Cohen is about to be a big brother. His sister is due next month, and his mother, Brooke Johns, has been told to take it easy.

“And he’s heavy,” Brooke said of Cohen.

Last week, Brooke was driving down Sandbar Ferry Road when the little voice in the backseat said he had a big problem.

“He's like, 'Mom, I've got to pee. I've got to pee!' I was like, 'Well, hold on,' and he's like, 'No! I've GOT to pee! I've got to REALLY pee.' And I'm like, 'Baby, there's nowhere for me to go, and he says, 'Momma, I'm about to pee in my pants!" Brooke said.

Brooke said they barely made it to a gas station parking lot before she realized they wouldn’t be able to make it inside.

“I can’t pick him up,” Brooke said. “You know, I’m not supposed to lift him.”

So, Brooke said she tried to cover Cohen up as best as she could as he relieved himself right there in the parking lot.

“He was peeing before his pants were even all the way down, so obviously he had to go,” Brooke said.

Apparently, this caught the attention of a Richmond County deputy.

"Accidents happen. And he was like, ‘Take him in the bathroom.’ What if I would have ran in the bathroom and someone had been in there? What I was going to let him do? Pee on the floor of the gas station?" Brooke said.

Instead, the deputy decided to cite Brooke with a disorderly conduct charge. Her ticket says, “She allowed her male child to urinate in the parking lot. I observed the male’s genitals and the urination. Public restrooms are offered at the location.”

“I’m going to court April 30,” Brooke said. “Several days before I am due. Yeah, I could extend it, but I would rather deal with it when I’m pregnant. Not when I have a newborn.”

Our Facebook post about the traffic ticket has also lit up social media, with hundreds of parents asking the one question we all have: Why?