Mark Kiesling recently wrote about a situation I have first-hand knowledge about and he does not. I am related to the Van Til family he loves to pick on, and the situation he stretched to write about was about my son and I.

Yes, this was a family matter involving my minor son. The most important thing Kiesling ignored was why I called my sister, Patti, to my home in the first place.

One of the officers from the Highland Police Department arrived at my home with others looking for my son, immediately bullied me, tried to intimidate me, and tried to frighten me while accusing me and searching my home without a warrant. His conduct was anything but professional.

Of course I called my sister, my best friend, who Kiesling disrespectfully calls PVT. It doesn't matter what position Patti Van Til holds other than being my sister, who was trying to help me sort out something the officer was making way more difficult than it had to be.

When I asked for proper paperwork, the officer became more irritated and aggressive as I questioned him about the validity of being in my house. He was very rude to both of us. MK stated, in error, "We were treated better than anyone else would have been." Actually, it was the total opposite; we were treated worse than someone could imagine.

The officer acted like I had a felon hiding in my house and made no attempt to be professional or understanding that my son was not there, that he had finals at high school the next day and was looking forward to going to the Army.

As it turned out, my 17-year-old son was at a local gym, which can be verified, and the officer chose to believe my sister or I was hiding him. Within a short time, my son came home and left with the personnel from the National Guard, who I called to come back, without incident, because he enthusiastically enlisted to serve his country.

Nobody, including Patti, did anything wrong, asked for anything, demanded anything, and nothing happened, except the confidential police report being circulated to politicians and my sister's miscreant neighbor and the unprofessional conduct of a responding officer.

She supported me, a single mom, trying to do the right thing in a confusing situation.

I can't believe the police handled this like they did. I can't believe the police gave the report about a minor to local politicians and press. I can't believe anybody in the press would put my family through this for nothing.