Why did the Police Dept take a child

The child lived in AL with the mother. The mother is a drug addict and was abusing/neglecting the child. Father came down from TN and was awarded temporary custody of child. 8 months later, father came back to AL for court date and AL dismissed the case and told him to file in Memphis since the child had been there 6+ months. Father was awarded temporary custody again in Memphis 2 months ago. The mother showed up yesterday with the police. The custody papers were give to the police and they still gave the child to the mother. The mother has now taken the child to another state. The child is in extreme danger with the mother. Why weren't these temporary papers enough and what are they for if the mother could take him any time. They have put this 3 year old in danger....they have no clue. She violated her felony bond in AL and the police wouldn't even check. What is the next step. Father has court for full custody on May 29 and she is gone now with the child. What happened? Can this really be done?

If you were an unmarried male, had a child with a woman, you must first establish paternity before you can begin to address custody.

Have you previously established paternity?

I suggest you retain an attorney, if you're worried about custody.
Whatever the dope addict did, looks like she out maneuvered you.
If the child is in danger, contact the police where the child is currently residing.

QWERT, who are you in this equation? A friend of one of the parties? Or, are you dad? It makes a difference because it will determine what you may or may not actually know about the case.

The police generally act on the most recent court order. We do NOT know what the officers knew when they made contact with dad about the child. He may have obtained an order 2 months earlier, but that does not mean that there was not a more recent order granting at least temporary custody to mom, nor do we know whether the orders were limited in some way by time or if they were actually ORDERS! I have had parents hand me copies of court filings, mediation recommendations, and even CPS recommendations and administrative orders (not signed by a court) as alleged proof of custody.

As AJ suggested, dad needs to obtain an attorney to assist in this. That attorney should be able to obtain whatever records might exist in both TN and AL regarding the child. And, as suggested, if dad has good cause to believe that the child is in immediate danger, he should contact the local law enforcement agency where the child is and maybe even the local CPS agency. Further, he should be sure to attend his court hearing on May 29th WITH his legal counsel, and inform the court of everything he can about the incident and whatever else was to be addressed by the court on that date.

There is likely to be no quick fix in this as it is possible that the two courts will have to coordinate and decide which of them has jurisdiction.

Father was awarded TEMPORARY custody. Perhaps mom obtained an order that supersedes dad's temporary order?

An attorney is needed to help figure all this out.