KNOXVILLE, Iowa – Police arrested a man last week for allegedly putting a shock collar on his 12-year-old son in order to motivate him to do household chores. 35-year-old Daniel Hardwick (pictured above) has been charged with neglect or abandonment of a dependent person. Police took him into custody last Thursday after being contacted by the state Department of Human Services.
According to Knoxville Police Chief Dan Losada, “One of the allegations in this investigation was that a parent had placed an animal shock collar around a child’s neck and used that to encourage the child to do things within the home.”
Court records also state that Hardwick humiliated the boy by placing him in a high chair by the street curb with a sign that read, “I refused to eat my big boy food. Please feed me, I’m hungry.”
In an interview with a local reporter, Hardwick characterized the incident this way, “To me, fun and games. You know, even though, you know, chores were part of the deal. All fun and games.”
He then let the reporter know who the real victim was, “A lot of it is false accusations against me, which a lot of it can’t be fixed.” He went on to say that the events have caused great pain to his family and that it would be harder for him to get a job as a result of the accusations.
Perhaps he should eat his big boy food.
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