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Five years later Rev. McAtee is still broiling about the unjust use of police force against his young son and family. The story is below. This cop's treatment of the McAtee family exceeds all bounds of the state's authority, granted in Scripture. It is aggressive abuse, tyrannical. But the telling point to all of this is HSLDA's response to the abuse received. Toward the end of his column Pastor McAtee wrote, "The frustrating end to this story is that....HSLDA, who we paid insurance premiums to for years for just such an eventuality, refused to send any kind of letter asking for redress of the situation. They insisted that it “really wasn’t a school related event.”

Read the essay on this site titled Michael Farris' Extremely Profitable Eisegesis Then ask yourself this question - does a view of Scripture that the state has the right to criminally punish a parent for not seeing to their child's education then lead Farris and HSLDA to respond the way they did to the McAtee family? To put in bluntly, does HSLDA believe they have it coming? RTP continues to repeat, as stated in the linked essay - it is agreed that in many cases such neglect is a sin, but the question is "criminally punish"? Director Dorr contacted current HSLDA President Michael Smith to provide him an opportunity to respond to Pastor McAtee's charge. Smith declined to comment on a member's case.

My Homeschool, "Run In W/ The Law" Story
by Rev. Bret McAtee

This is a story that tells not only about the difficulty that home-schoolers have with law enforcement but also it gives a little bit of insight into the tyrannical and egotistical nature of too many of those who wear a uniform and a badge. I post this true account in order to shine the disinfectant of light on the corrupt nature of too many cops. I haven’t posted it before here because my Son was a little traumatized by what I am going to recount. He is now at an age where he is way past all of that. I, however, remain royally steamed about all of this.

This happened approximately five years ago during the winter months. Anthony had been given the job of keeping the Church sidewalks clear so that government school students could use them going to and fro to their educational internment camps. Since we had received a good amount of snow in the morning Anthony was out snow-blowing the sidewalks about an hour before the inmates were released from school. While Anthony was doing this I was a stone’s throw away in the Church in my study.

While Anthony was snow-blowing a squad car pulled up and the Cop belligerently demanded to know why Anthony was not in school. It seems that the officer was convinced that Anthony was a truant. One would have thought that the officer might have thought it strange that someone would have spent his time skipping school in order to clear sidewalks. Be that as it may, the Cop, copped an attitude from the word “go” w/ Anthony presuming his guilt. When prodded on the question of “why he wasn’t in school,” Anthony finally responded to the question w/ a question of his own. He, politely but directly, asked the rude guy in the squad car, “if it was any of his business as to whether or not he (Anthony) was in school.”

That response flipped the Cop out. He immediately got out of his car and roughly pushed Anthony against the squad car in order to “pat him down.” After patting my Son down he threw Anthony in the back of the squad car. Now, keep in mind, that this was Anthony’s first encounter w/ the police. This was a 15 year old kid who had no idea what was going on or what was being done to him.

Once the officer returned to the vehicle Anthony repeatedly pleaded w/ the Cop to drive the 30 yards to the Church in order that the officer might talk to his father who was in his study. The Cop refused all these appeals, opting instead to make half a dozen radio calls to see whether or not anything could be done to force Anthony into the government schools. He called the Cop at the local High School (which is right across the street from where Anthony was blowing snow) to come and identify Anthony as a student. When the High School Cop couldn’t confirm Anthony as a truant the Cop called the Intermediate Eaton County School District to see if anything could be done to force my Son into their concentration camps they call schools. He also called the local Cop Shop to see if anything could be done to that end. He did everything he could to try and force a situation where Anthony would be compelled to be enrolled at government school and all this only because Anthony had the temerity to ask him if the Cops interest in Anthony’s school attendance was any of his business.

All of this took about 45 minutes to accomplish. 45 minutes of sitting in the back of a squad car, a stone’s throw from the safety of his Father. 45 minutes of having no earthly idea where any of this was going.

Finally, once the Cop realized there was no way to force Anthony into the government schools and that there was nothing he could do with him, the Cop finally decided to listen to Anthony and drive into the Church parking lot to see if I was indeed in my study. I was.

The Cop came to the door and knocked on it. I keep the Church door routinely locked because I am the only one in the Church and my study is secluded enough from the rest of the Church that people could go in and out without my knowing. Upon hearing the Cops rapping I went out and inquired through the door what the problem was. The officer demanded being let in but as I was alone and as he was 6′5′’ and about 350 pounds and was wearing a gun I would not let him in until he told me what the problem was. I don ‘t trust Cops and I am not in the habit of letting large armed men into buildings I am alone in unless I know them or unless I have a weapon of my own.

Finally, he informed me that he had my Son. Immediately I burst out the door fearful that Anthony had been hurt in some fashion. I demanded to know what was going on. When the Cop finally told me his considerably revisionist version I was, to put it mildly, outraged, and let him know that in no uncertain terms.

He made some kind of comment about “seeing where he (Anthony) got ‘it’ from.”

The frustrating end to this story is that we complained to the police and never received an apology for the behavior for this all too common behavior. Further, HSLDA, who we paid insurance premiums to for years for just such an eventuality, refused to send any kind of letter asking for redress of the situation. They insisted that it “really wasn’t a school related event.” [Bold face added. PRD]

One can tell that five years later I’m still roiled about this whole event. My Son was minding his own business and instead of presuming the best the bully Cop presumed the worst and felt like he was threatened by a kid asking him, after he had already been belligerent himself, if he had any authority in the issue that was being demanded.