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Mom calls police on toddler as a lesson after she takes seatbelt off

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Mom calls police on toddler as a lesson after she takes seatbelt off
WATCH ABOVE: A mother in Arizona decided to call the police on her three-year-old daughter after she took her seatbelt off. The woman called it a “teachable moment.” Jason Barry reports – Sep 21, 2016

A Scottsdale, Ariz., woman called the police on her daughter after the girl refused to keep her seatbelt on.

Michelle Fortin was driving home with her two children on Sept. 12 when she said she heard screaming and crying in the back seat.

“All of a sudden her brother … yells, ‘Mommy, mommy, she unbuckled her seatbelt,’” Fortin told CBS affiliate, KTVK News.

Fortin said she pulled over and buckled her daughter, three-year-old Camille, back up. That was also when Fortin had an idea.

When they got home, Fortin called a non-emergency line and made an appointment to have police speak to Camille – and they accepted.

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“Her safety was at risk, so I took it for what it was, which was a teachable moment,” said Fortin to KTVK News. “I got home and called the police – and turned her in.”

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Two officers with the Scottsdale police department spoke to Camille and her brother about the importance of wearing a seatbelt.

“We don’t know what other drivers are going to do,” Scottsdale police officer Corey Snead is heard telling Camille in the video. “Other drivers might not pay attention and they can run into the back of mom [or] they can hit the side of the car. If you were not buckled, our body is going to hit something.”

Fortin admitted calling the police may have been a  stretch but she believed it resonated with her daughter.

“Yes, it was an extreme choice on my part to call the police, but I knew she [was] going to remember it,” explained Fortin.

As for Camille, she promised the police officers to always be safe from now on.

“I promise I’ll keep my seat belt on,” said Camille.

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