MEMPHIS, Tenn. — A mother is in custody after she allegedly assaulted police so that her son could make a getaway and avoid going to jail.

According to reports, an officer tried to place a suspect in custody for Violation of Probation and Theft of Property of $10,000 to $60,000. During the process of arresting him, his mother, Xavieria Crawford, stepped in to shield him from the officer.

The suspect tried to flee from police, and the officer continued trying to detain him. Crawford then began swinging her arms at the officer in an attempt to punch him, MPD says.

As the officer transferred his attention to her, she yelled out to her son, telling him to run and go. Her son fled the scene, court documents show.

WREG checked with the court, and the name matching Crawford’s son shows to have 18 total contacts with the court. They include multiple thefts of property cases, as well as multiple burglaries of a vehicle cases,  attempted burglary of a vehicle, unlawful possession of a weapon, assault and vandalism.

Reports did not indicate whether or not the suspect was found and detained.

Xavieria Crawford was taken into custody and charged with Assault, Disorderly Conduct, Resisting Official Detention and Accessory After the Fact.

A deputy chief with Memphis Police spoke about crime in the Bluff City involving young people. “We have to change the mindset of the juvenile. Young ages are influenced by a lot of factors in the community. We need to get back to parental oversight. Parental involvement and community involvement. A long time ago, if the parent was absent at work, the community would kind of look out for the child, and we are not seeing that anymore.”