A panicked Brooklyn mom walked into an NYPD station house to say her two young kids were missing — but an officer blew her off and refused to take a report, sources told The Post.
It turned out that the kids really had wandered off — making it to Midtown Manhattan before they were found — and Officer Angelo Rossignolo of the 73rd Precinct was placed on modified duty for failure to take police action on a missing persons case, according to the sources.
Around 8 a.m. Wednesday, 12-year-old Lala Washington and her 9-year-old brother, Andrew Hillard, left their family’s Brownsville home on Amboy Street to go to a free food program across the street, cops said.
When the youngsters didn’t return home, their worried mother went out looking for them before going to the stationhouse at around 1 p.m., sources said.
While at the precinct, Rossignolo told the mother he couldn’t take a missing persons report and advised that she wait awhile, according to sources.
“Go home and call 911,” the 7-year officer told the mother, one source said.
The next morning, the NYPD released photos of the children and descriptions of them as the department asked for the public’s help in locating the kids.
The children, cops say, were later found Thursday at a Starbucks on West 49th Street in Midtown — roughly 13 miles away.
Meanwhile, several NYPD officers and a worker for the city’s Administration for Children’s Services attempted to check on the family Friday.
“ACS tried to do a wellness check, but we couldn’t get in,” one of the officers told a Post reporter.
ACS spokeswoman Chanel Caraway said: “Our top priority is protecting the safety and well-being of all children in New York City. We are investigating this case with the NYPD.”
Rossignolo, who joined the force in 2011, raked in a total pay of $102,228 last year, according to data posted by SeeThroughNY.
He could not be reached for comment. A rep for the Patrolmen’s Benevolent Association declined to comment.
Additional reporting by Khristina Narizhnaya