Ryan's not real: Police should have known doll was not real, says owner of car which had window smashed in bid to save 'baby'
The owner of a car which had its window smashed when police feared a baby was locked inside - only to discover that it was actually a child's doll - said that officers should have known that it was not real.
The doll belonged to 10-year-old Janaih Rattray and had been left in her sister Delesia's car at Russells Hall Hospital where they were visiting their mother.
The alarm was raised by a passer-by and officers, believing the extremely lifelike doll to be a real baby, forced their way into the Vauxhall Corsa.
Delesia, aged 20, from Dudley, was shocked when she returned to her car to find broken glass on the back seat and thought she had been the victim of the break-in.
The Wolverhampton University student and her mother Carole Johnson believe officers should have been able to tell that the doll, which is called Ryan, was not real.
But West Midlands Police chiefs today praised the actions of the officers and said they thought a baby had been left by a 'depressed' mother for hospital staff to find.
They said attempts were made to trace the owner of the car but with time passing they were left with no option but to smash the window.
Delesia said: "I was walking to the car and I noticed my mirror was in and I knew I didn't leave it that way. I went to open the car door and the driver's window was all smashed.
"I think they were right to be concerned but I think that it is obvious it was a doll."
Carole, aged 43, who was taken to A&E as she felt ill but released later the same day, said: "You can tell it's a doll from its arms and legs, which weren't in the blanket. Janaih was upset, she was crying in the hospital. She's a little girl and she was devastated, she thought it was her fault as it was her doll."
The force has agreed to pay for the damage caused to the car, worth around £90.
Chief Inspector Phil Dolby, from Dudley Police, said: "Two of my officers did the right thing when faced with what they genuinely believed was a baby, alone and critically ill in a locked car on the hospital's car park."
The Priory Primary School pupil received the doll as a Christmas present last year and was rarely seen without it.
