Dazhawn Richardson, a 28-year-old Ohio father, has been arrested after he allegedly left his toddler alone in his car while he went grocery shopping inside a nearby Aldi store. The incident unfolded around 3 p.m. local time on November 14.
According to an incident report, the Solon Police Department received a call requesting a welfare check on a baby.. The person claimed that the toddler had been left alone in an unattended car in the parking lot of an Aldi grocery store located in the 6200 block of Som Center Road.
When the cops arrived at the location, they found a black Mercedes Sedan on the north side of the Aldi building. According to the responding police officers, they heard crying coming from inside the car, and quickly spotted a baby in a seat. However, no adult was present inside the vehicle at that time.
Body camera video in Solon is raising serious concerns after police said a 1-year-old baby was found alone inside a parked vehicle.https://t.co/AqK73YOf1L
— fox8news (@fox8news) November 20, 2025
Bodycam footage showed officers speaking with a woman who had likely called 911. “The baby is crying, it’s been a while,” the female witness could be heard telling an officer. “Yeah, that’s totally unacceptable. I mean, that’s literally a baby,” said the responding officer.
The cops used a “lock-out tool” method to open the vehicle, as reported by Law&Crime. When they took out the 1-year-old from the car, he appeared cold. “The kid was literally shivering,” one officer told his colleagues.
He then called for paramedics from the local fire department. They wanted to “check for any medical issues with the child.”
Just when the medical emergency personnel were arriving at the scene, an adult male came rushing outside the grocery store. The man, who was later identified as Dazhawn Richardson, told the cops that he was the father of the toddler.
‘That’s literally a baby’: Dad left ‘shivering’ 1-year-old in car alone while he shopped in Aldi, police say https://t.co/UmWpRXlIE1
— Law & Crime (@lawcrimenews) November 20, 2025
Although the baby was returned to the dad after a medical check-up, police issued him a citation for child endangerment. He claimed that he could not get a grocery cart because he did not have change; therefore, he decided to leave his baby behind, as it would have been difficult to hold him and the groceries at the same time.
However, Richardson ultimately admitted that what he did was “stupid” and could have turned out to be a lot worse had the woman not dialed 911. According to the authorities, the child was alone inside the vehicle for about 15 minutes.
The father was allowed to go with his son inside the ambulance. When the officers mentioned Child Protective Services to him, he was allegedly crying.
Richardson was charged with one count of child endangerment following the incident, according to his court records. However, it is not clear when he is scheduled to appear in court.
