How many witnesses do you need to arrest someone for child abuse???

How many witnesses do you need to arrest someone for child abuse??? Could it be 2 or 3??  Maybe 8? Or maybe it's got to be along the lines of 60 or 70 witnesses that are needed. Is it more than that?

 People every where would like to see an end to child abuse and that includes myself. I believe there is a difference between a spanking and a beating. A spanking would fall under "CORRECTION" and a beating would fall under "ABUSE" And if people want to stop "ABUSE" then why is it that we can't pull together and give our police officers the ability to arrest someone who abuses a child??

 Here's what got me fired up about this. A few days ago, my wife and a friend go to town, stop at the faughters to pick up some things, and go to Wal-mart. While at Wal-mart in the check-out line they, and SEVERAL other people hear a 4 yr old girl crying and a man yelling at the top of his lungs(as they head out the door) "You better shut the F#@* up you little B#^&ch or I'll beat your ass".

My wife, our friend, and about 20 or so people came outside(some were Wal-mart employees) and they find the guy jerking the little girl out of his truck and BEAT her behind 5 or 6 times, she is crying "I want my mommy" and he tells her "You ain't getting your F!%&*ng mommy" My wife and several others called 911 and TRPD was there in 3 minutes along with Child Protective Services. And with all those people that saw what this piece of trash did...they let him go because there was no marks on her behind. THEY LET HIM GO.

 How would everyone have felt when they wake up the next morning to see on the news that a little girl was killed from abuse and it was THAT little girl??? Now, it's not TRPD's fault, they are just following the guide lines that are layed out for them in cases like this, but you'd think there was enough witnesses that saw it to were they could have arrested him OR taken the little girl into custody until her mother could get there to pick her up or some thing.

 I think he needed a beating. I know it ain't right according to the law, but I'd have liked to see one of the men in the group step up and lay that sucker out flat. Just close your eyes a splt second before you connect with his jaw and when the police ask what happeded you say "He hit his head on some thing but I didn't see what it was"...if you close your eyes and don't SEE your fist hit him and you say that you "didn't see what it was" then you are not telling a lie are you??? You'd be that little girls HERO and he might think twice about BEATING a child again.

So...How many witnesses does it take? I guess 20 or so ain't enough. And why the hell didn't Child Protective Services do some thing???