Crime Blotter

Last Tuesday afternoon, two women were sitting patiently in the waiting room of Lutheran Hospital in Sunset Park. Both were pregnant; one was accompanied by a toddler. The little wonderling was reportedly running wild around the waiting room, screaming, grabbing things and making a general shrieking nuisance of himself. After putting up with this long enough, 40-year-old Elizabeth Williams allegedly suggested that the brat's 28-year-old mother get some kind of control over him. When she found herself being ignored, Williams then allegedly suggested that if the mother didn't do anything about the monster, she'd give him a smack herself. The child's mother, as you might imagine, didn't appreciate that, and the two began exchanging unpleasantries. Then, instead of smacking the child as promised, Williams reportedly smacked the mother, and all hell broke loose. When it came to mayhem, those two put the kid to shame. We can all empathize with one side or the other in this case. If you've ever been in a restaurant or subway car while someone lets their kid run rampant, it's easy to understand Williams' frustration. On the other hand, I'm sure there are plenty of miserable parents out there who understand how annoying it is to have a complete stranger point out they are a lousy parent. In the end, if you can believe it, it was Williams who was arrested and now faces menacing and assault charges, while the other woman-who suffered minor scratches and bruises- was set free to continue inflicting her unruly children on the rest of the world.