Legal Question in Criminal Law in Colorado

The issue is that the 6 year year child may not be able to adequately and safely protect herself in case on an emergency situation that may arise within such a short period of time (7 minutes). 7 minutes may be short to you but may be long enough in an unexpected emergency situation or to a 6 year old child.

If the car was running even without the key in the ignition is even more dangerous as the chld could have driven the car and either harmed herself or others.

Here it is that the 6 year old was placed in an unreasonably unsafe situation that poses a threat or injury to the child's life or health or could be treated as mistreatment (a stretch and arguable). You could have been charged with a class 3 or class 2 misdemeanor child abuse (as no injury ocurred to the child).

Further, it also depends on the time of the day and season. In winter if the weather is very cold or below freezing and with the engine of the car off there is no haet in the car and the child could be faced with a serious health situation. Similarly in the middle of summer in the early afternoon a similar health risk (over heat) could cause a serious health risk to the child.

Anything could happen to the car. Someone could hit the car and cause the car to go up in flames or any other strange circumstance or situation can arise. Also the child could fall or somehow hurt herself and bleed to death.

It is a very bad idea to leave any child alone unattended in any car even with no ignition. The car could auto roll due to even a malfunction.

You are lucky the officer only warned you and not cited you with child abuse. It may be a weak case but, if a citation was issued, then you will have to defend yourself and incur some heavy costs to get a good criminal defense attorney to help you with the child abuse charges. Even a misdemeanor child abuse charge is very serious because of the various collateral consequences that may araise. I believe that since you came back in a short time and no actual harm happened to the child the Officer was kind enough to just warn you of the possible consequences of your inadvertent actions. From the Officer's point of view is that if she was able to send you a strong message without citing you of criminal charges and that had the effect of changing your behaviour then she has done her job of making you compliant with the law without having issued you with a criminal citation. It is just awake up call to you by the Officer.

Also note that the Officer telling you that she coudl cite you is not a "threat" but only the act of him or her using official discretion. Officers have the legal authourity tto issue citations or arrest people upon a finding of probable cause and an officer choosing not to do so but rather issue a stern warning is not an act threathening you or your children.

It is never a good idea to leave any child alone, unattended for however brief moment of time. Children have been harmed in less tthan just a few (1 or 2) minutes. Children have been abducted and then killed or sexually abused by the time a parent turns around. The risk is very very high when it comes to unattended young children.