Couple Files Claim Against Simi Valley in ‘Home Alone’ Case : Supervision: Parents accuse police of mishandling the incident and traumatizing their four children.

The Simi Valley parents who left their four children unsupervised for four days in a widely reported “home alone” case have filed a $100,000 claim against the city, alleging that police handled the case improperly.

In the document, Armand and Robbin D’Alo say the family should be compensated for emotional distress and violation of constitutional rights. A claim must be submitted before a lawsuit can be filed against a city.

The D’Alos said Thursday that they filed the claim earlier this week because the city had refused their informal request for an apology and restitution. They said they will consider a lawsuit if the claim yields no results.

City Atty. John Torrance declined to comment.

In their claim, the parents accused police officers of threatening the children while checking on their welfare Jan. 11. Police were responding to a call from a school principal, who was concerned because one of the children had missed classes.

Inside the D’Alos’ house, police found the youngsters unsupervised while their parents were attending a class in San Jose, related to their financial planning business.

Officers said the children--three boys, then 13, 8 and 6 years old, and their 10-year-old sister--were healthy, had plenty of food and appeared to be in no immediate danger.

But because they believed the children were not old enough to be left by themselves, police placed them with an aunt and opened an investigation. The children were returned to their parents when the D’Alos came home.

The children suffered “emotional fear and distress” because of the harsh way in which they were questioned by officers, the claims states. The parents allege that officers threatened to handcuff their oldest son.

Police Chief Lindsey P. Miller said only that he does not believe there was misconduct by his officers. “It appears that we followed proper procedure,” he said.

If the city does not settle the claim within 45 days, it is considered rejected, and the family can file a lawsuit.

The case received wide news coverage because it came on the heels of a nationally publicized case in which an Illinois couple left their daughters, ages 9 and 4, at home alone while traveling to Mexico on a nine-day vacation.

In their claim, the D’Alos asserted that the officers gave out so much information that their children were publicly identified, contrary to juvenile confidentiality laws.

“The entire family was traumatized by this conduct,” the claim states.

Simi Valley police asked the Ventura County district attorney’s office to file misdemeanor child abuse charges against the parents.

Prosecutors described the D’Alos’ conduct as “very disturbing,” but they declined to file criminal charges. They said the law provides no age guidelines regarding when children can be left alone.

By filing the claim, the D’Alos said they also wanted to let other parents know that their children may be seized by authorities if they are left unsupervised.

“This same type of thing could have happened to anybody,” Robbin D’Alo said. “We’re a good family, and we got beat up by the system.”

“This is a system run amok,” Armand D’Alo said.

The D’Alos have referred to their run-in with police as the “home together” case.

The parents said their children wanted to remain at home when the D’Alos began traveling to San Jose periodically on business. The parents decided their eldest son was mature enough to take care of his siblings.

“The only question we had was whether it was legal,” Armand D’Alo said.

He said he contacted police and children’s services workers and was told: “It’s totally up to the parents’ discretion. There’s no law.”

While they were away, the D’Alos said, they telephoned the house regularly. They also left the numbers of relatives and church members whom the children could call in an emergency.

In their claim, the D’Alos asserted that Simi Valley police violated the children’s rights by refusing to let them contact an attorney and by denying them “the general right to be free from unnecessary and offensive governmental interference.”

Since the incident, the D’Alo children have been receiving counseling because of their fear of being taken away by police or county social workers, their parents said.

Armand D’Alo said his 6-year-old recently saw a police officer issuing a traffic ticket to a motorist. D’Alo said the boy asked: “Is he taking their kids away?”