Will this be the future of American health care once the government is put in charge of it all? And is this sufficiently outrageous for Americans to speak out against the police state mentality established by so-called "child welfare workers".

The Garfield County All Hazards Response Team broke down Tom Shiflett's door Friday night and, following a court order, took his son for medical treatment.

The doctor's recommendation: Take Tylenol and apply ice to the bruises. The boy was back home a few hours later.

The kid had a fall. His father treated him responsibly, just like parents of my generation would have done. But a single nosy neighbor called an ambulance without bothering to find out what the exact situation was, and touched out a wholesale invasion of the rights of the Shiflett family.

Speaking about the incident from his home in the Apple Tree Park on Monday, Shiflett was very upset. Perhaps most offensive, Shiflett said, was that law enforcement didn't announce there was a warrant before breaking into his home south of New Castle.

"I would have let them in," he said. "It was traumatic to my children, and it's unnecessary."

His spouse, Tina, and his six of 10 kids who are still at home were shocked at the manner of entry. Tina said law enforcement, wearing masks, broke down their door with a battering ram and pointed guns in her children's faces.

"They didn't need to bash into my home and slam my kids to the floor," Tina said, adding later, "I think they get a kick out of this."

She said law enforcement threatened criminal charges should the family even try to follow Jon or find out where he was taken. Jon was returned hours later, around 2:30 a.m. Saturday.

"In all there was not one shred of evidence found that we had done anything wrong or that Jon had not been properly cared for at home," Tina said.

Oh, and lest there be any doubt that the parents knew what they were doing in the first place, Tom Shiflett is a trained medic who could recognize any danger signs in his son. But that was not sufficient for the paramilitary force that stormed the Shiflett home and kidnapped young Jon under the guise of protecting his health, telling his parents that they were subject to imprisonment if they even attempted to be present while their son was forcibly treated without their consent.

This isn't a case of medical neglect. I've seen those -- indeed, I've actually had to report such cases to the authorities. This is a case of a kid with a bruise being taken by force and ordered to receive the exact care his parents were already providing. Jobs need to be lost over this incident -- and punitive damages awarded.

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