Police arrested a drunken Newtown father who they say was asked to leave a Willimantic bar while he was with his 8- and 11-year-old children and then was seen getting into his car with them, police said.
Glenn White, 48, of Newtown, is facing a risk of injury to a child charge after he was asked to leave the bar at closing time "due to his intoxicated state," police said. His two children, 8 and 11, were with him at the time and White was observed getting into his car with them, police said.
Someone called and reported that to police. White and the children were out of the car and walking to a relative's house in Columbia, the town next door, by the time police arrived at about 2 a.m., police said. Officers said the children were dressed in T-shirts and were "grossly underdressed" for the cold temperatures at that hour.
"We have the moral obligation to live up to the expectations of our children. This type of behavior is grossly unacceptable," Cpl. Stanley F. Parizo Jr., Willimantic Police Department spokesman, said in a statement.
Police arrested White and charged him with risk of injury to a minor. He was held in custody on a $5,000 cash or surety bond and is scheduled to appear in Danielson Superior Court on Oct. 13.
The Department of Children and Families was notified and "will be making appropriate measures for the welfare of both children," police said.
Police have not released the name of the bar the incident started at.
