Detroit CPS-Backed Removal of Ariana Godboldo Sparks Armed Standoff After Mother's Public Refusal of Psychotropic Medication
In March 2011, Michigan Child Protective Services and Detroit police attempted to remove 13-year-old Ariana Godboldo from her home after her mother Maryanne Godboldo publicly refused to continue administering the antipsychotic Risperdal. A standoff followed; Maryanne was arrested and charged, and all charges were later dismissed by Michigan courts, which found the removal order defective.
Maryanne Godboldo, a Detroit mother and community-arts figure, publicly told providers and later the press that she was discontinuing the antipsychotic Risperdal for her daughter Ariana. Child Protective Services obtained an ex parte order and Detroit police attempted to remove Ariana on March 24, 2011; the ensuing standoff lasted roughly ten hours. Maryanne was charged with multiple felonies including assault of a police officer. A Wayne County judge dismissed the charges in 2012 after finding the underlying CPS removal order was not properly signed and lacked jurisdiction; the Michigan Court of Appeals affirmed dismissal in 2013. The case became a rallying point for parental-rights and psychiatric-medication-choice advocates and was extensively covered by the Detroit Free Press, Detroit News, and national outlets.