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MPR News Staff
St. Paul, Minn.

Hennepin County attorney seeks child protection order for Peterson's son

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Minnesota Vikings v St. Louis Rams
Vikings running back Adrian Peterson on Sept. 7, 2014.
Dilip Vishwanat / Getty Images

The Hennepin County Attorney's Office Friday said it is seeking a child protection order for the 4-year-old son of Minnesota Vikings star Adrian Peterson.

Officials filed a "child in need of protection or services" petition in Hennepin County District Court that outlined some of the injuries the boy sustained in an incident in Texas where Peterson acknowledged disciplining the child with a tree branch, or switch.

The Hennepin County protection petition filed Friday also mentioned the use of a belt to discipline the child, who lives in Minnesota.

"State law requires us to file an action in child protection court when charges are filed in criminal court alleging serious injuries against a child living in Hennepin County," Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman said in a statement.

"Our own internal investigation has revealed that the injuries were serious enough to meet the legal threshold" for child protection, Freeman added.

Peterson was indicted in Montgomery County, Texas, after admitting to authorities that he struck his son with the switch.

Peterson said he was disciplining his son the same way his own father disciplined him while growing up in Palestine, Texas, and didn't intend to hurt him.

The uproar over the case led the Vikings on Thursday to bar Peterson from the team, with pay, while he addresses the child abuse charge in Texas.

The Hennepin documents lay out a proposed "safety plan" for Peterson and the boy's mother to follow.

For Peterson, the plan would include "no physical discipline, no unsupervised or unauthorized contact with his son and completion of a parenting assessment," according to the filing.

Read the petition below