--- title: That Cincinnati Zoo Mom Did Something Criminal Is Outrageous description: Public outrage against the parents involved in the gorilla incident has reached ridiculous heights, culminating in a police investigation. canonical: https://time.com/4355366/gorilla-police-investigation/ author: Darlena Cunha article:opinion: true article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-06-02T18:27:07.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T08:04:30.183Z article:section: Ideas og:title: The Idea That the Cincinnati Zoo Mom Did Something Criminal Is Outrageous og:description: A mistake? Yes. Worth of jail time? No way og:url: https://time.com/4355366/gorilla-police-investigation/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt745a9320a2176d75/69889610e20a87d6dfa91156/gorilla-death-outrage.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 2560 og:image:height: 1440 og:image:alt: Zoo Gorilla Child Hurt og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: The Idea That the Cincinnati Zoo Mom Did Something Criminal Is Outrageous twitter:description: A mistake? Yes. Worth of jail time? No way twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt745a9320a2176d75/69889610e20a87d6dfa91156/gorilla-death-outrage.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # The Idea That the Cincinnati Zoo Mom Did Something Criminal Is Outrageous > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. 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A paid TIME subscription is separate and available at time.com/subscribe-agent. ## Video: Mom's 911 Call At Cincinnati Zoo [Watch (HLS stream): Mom's 911 Call At Cincinnati Zoo](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/tM7stzkY.m3u8) (0:36)  _Published 2016-06-01_ by [Darlena Cunha](https://time.com/author/darlena-cunha/) ## Darlena Cunha Jun 2, 2016 6:27 PM UTC  A sympathy card rests at the feet of a gorilla statue outside the Gorilla World exhibit at the Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden, May 29, 2016. A sympathy card rests at the feet of a gorilla statue outside the Gorilla World exhibit at the Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden, May 29, 2016. John Minchillo—AP by [Darlena Cunha](https://time.com/author/darlena-cunha/) ## Darlena Cunha Jun 2, 2016 6:27 PM UTC An animal is dead, and a young child is alive after the toddler fell into a gorilla enclosure at the [Cincinnati Zoo](http://www.nytimes.com/2016/06/01/us/police-investigating-shooting-of-gorilla-at-cincinnati-zoo.html?version=meter+at+5&module=meter-Links&pgtype=article&contentId=&mediaId=&referrer=&priority=true&action=click&contentCollection=meter-links-click) last weekend. Instead of applause for all involved for saving the life of the child, [public outrage](http://www.cosmopolitan.com/politics/news/a59261/harambe-gorilla-michelle-gregg/) against the parents, Michelle Gregg and Deonne Dickerson has reached ridiculous—and serious—heights, culminating in a [police investigation](http://www.nytimes.com/2016/06/03/us/gorilla-investigation-is-still-active-cincinnati-police-say.html?%5Fr=1) on their actions. The Hamilton County prosecuting attorney [said in a statement](http://www.hcpros.org/press-room/2016/update-cincinnati-zoo?version=meter+at+0&module=meter-Links&pgtype=article&contentId=&mediaId=&referrer=&priority=true&action=click&contentCollection=meter-links-click) that the office would make a decision as early as Friday on whether to press charges. It’s understandable that the police would look into an event in which a child was in danger. But the overblown attention to this story and the public backlash against the parents is outlandish. Nearly 500,000 people [signed a petition](https://www.change.org/p/cincinnati-zoo-justice-for-harambe?version=meter+at+5&module=meter-Links&pgtype=article&contentId=&mediaId=&referrer=&priority=true&action=click&contentCollection=meter-links-click) to actively investigate and hold responsible the family for this tragic accident. The petition suggests that “this negligence may be reflective of the child’s home situation.” How would they know that? The response to the boy’s mother in particular has been deafening—and unwarranted. In [multiple](http://www.cbsnews.com/videos/911-calls-released-in-cincinnati-gorilla-incident/) [videos](http://www.cnn.com/videos/us/2016/05/31/boy-falls-into-gorilla-enclosure-harambe-cincinnati-zoo-timeline-orig-mss.cnn), you can hear her trying to comfort her son while unable to save him, and speaking to a 911 operator, whom she called immediately. Compare this case to other recent zoo accidents, like [the mother](https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2015/04/13/mother-dangled-toddler-over-cheetah-pen-when-he-fell/) who allegedly dangled her child over a cheetah pit in Cleveland last year or [the mother](http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/mom-blame-boy-mauled-death-zoo-article-1.1453399) who allegedly held her kid above a pack of wild painted dogs in Pittsburgh in 2013\. In the Cleveland case, the child fell and broke his leg, and the mother was [charged](https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2015/04/13/mother-dangled-toddler-over-cheetah-pen-when-he-fell/) with child endangerment. In the Pittsburgh case, the child fell and was killed, and the mother was not charged. After the parents sued the zoo, and the zoo countersued, the lawsuits were [settled](http://www.cbsnews.com/news/parents-of-2-year-old-mauled-by-wild-dogs-settle-pittsburgh-zoo-lawsuit/). Both instances were largely ignored by the Internet masses. Law enforcement and the courts were left to do their jobs. Gregg was not actively helping her child get into mischief. She looked away for one minute, as any parent has done before. A mistake? Yes. Negligence worthy of jail time after so much trauma has already been served? I say no. **Read more:** [The Cincinnati Zoo Mom Is My Hero](http://time.com/4352464/cincinnati-zoo-mom/) In this case, there are people [saying](http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3617016/EXCLUSIVE-PICTURES-parents-four-son-fell-zoo-enclosure-sparking-controversial-killing-Harambe-gorilla-emerges-father-lengthy-criminal-history.html) the boy and his mother should be dead. There are people scrutinizing a mom for being thankful her child is alive. There are talk show hosts and pundits asking not “What went wrong here and how can we prevent this from happening again?” but “Why wasn’t the mother watching her son?” Many people are jumping to broad, negative, conclusions about this woman’s home, family and life. They are assuming, for some reason, that she didn’t care about what her son was doing, even though all evidence points to the contrary. We were not there. We cannot say that she is a negligent parent. [Deidre Lykins](https://www.clutchmagonline.com/2016/05/justice-for-harambe/) was there. She says Gregg was vigilant, strong and utterly distraught. Too many would rather throw stones than take an eyewitness account into consideration. They would rather manipulate parents’ feelings of anger and fear. Why? To make them feel better about themselves. The easiest way to do that is to say: “She is negligent. I am not. That would never happen to me.” They are wrong. We should let the police do their jobs. Let them investigate because that is what they have to do, not because there is some random piece of super-evidence that will show the world this poor mother is a bad mother. ## Transcript I need you to call bleep. What is the address? I need you to call bleep. Cincinnati 911. What is the address Hi. My son fell in the zoo exhibit at the gorillas. The Cincinnati Zoo. My son fell in with the gorilla. There's a male gorilla standing over him. I need someone to contact the zoo please. Okay, We do already have that started. We do already have help started there, okay? How old is- Okay [ NOISE ] be calm, be calm, be calm! How old is- Be calm, be calm, he dragging my son, I can't watch this. I can't- How is your son? I can't watch. Okay let me help you out there. 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