LAKEWOOD, Wash. -- A Spanaway, Wash., family is considering legal action against Lakewood, Wash., police for releasing a man in a gorilla suit who allegedly grabbed their 5-year-old son at a store.
Police are asking for the public's help in tracking down the man.
The boy's parents said they are enraged by the way police handled the case at the B & I Marketplace on Aug. 2, when a man snatched the boy and fled.
Anthony and April Santiago heard their son screaming and chased down the man and held him for police.
When Lakewood police officers arrived, the man said it was a joke. Police accepted the man's explanation that it was a prank and they let him go.
"I'm absolutely irate, and I am just as irate at the police for not doing their job as I am at the person that committed this crime," said April Santiago, the boy's mother.
But the Santiagos don't think it was a joke and are still upset.
"The mistake that they (the officers) did make was to not get hard identification," said Lakewood Police Lt. Dave Guttu. "They didn't verify his identification."
The officers never wrote a report or checked the false name the man gave, the boy's parents said.
On Thursday, Lakewood police released a photo of the suspect in the hopes of finding him. They said that the photo was taken at some point by a security officer at the store.
Crimestoppers is offering a $1,000 reward for information leading to the capture of the man and filing of charges. The phone number is 253-591 5959.
The store where it happened had previously kept a gorilla named Ivan as an attraction for customers for 27 years. Ivan was sent to the Atlanta Zoo in 1994.
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Caught On Tape: Man In Gorilla Suit Nabs Child 
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