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Father in Amber Alert case talks to KIRO 7

A 15-month-old Auburn girl who became the subject of an Amber Alert has been found safe, according to Auburn police.

The suspect in the case, the girl's father, 33-year-old Anthony Burton, is now in custody.

Reporter Natasha Chen talked to the father in this case in the minutes after the Amber Alert was over, before he was arrested.

I promise you on my life, my daughter has never been in any danger, especially not with me. If anything, I’m the overprotective one,” Burton said.

By the time Burton spoke with KIRO 7, his friend had driven his daughter to Burton’s mother’s house in Spanaway. The girl was then returned to her own mother.

The child’s mother told KIRO 7 she did not want to do an interview.

A couple of hours after Burton spoke to KIRO 7, Auburn police said they arrested him on suspicion of felony domestic violence. He was arrested in Tukwila.

The incident began when Auburn police were called to a domestic violence incident involving Burton and his girlfriend, who is the mother of his child, Sunday morning.

Police received reports that Burton had threatened to kill the child’s mother with a gun. Burton also threatened "suicide by cop" if confronted by officers, according to police.

But Burton told KIRO 7 that wasn’t true.

“The police are doing their job coming to look for what they think is somebody who’s going to harm a little girl. And I understand that. But anybody who knows me knows, I’m the best dad I can be for my daughter,” he said.

During the Sunday incident, the toddler's mother fled to a neighbor's house to call 911. Burton fled the scene before police arrived, taking the toddler with him.

Burton last spoke to police and family by phone on Tuesday afternoon.

Police said an Amber Alert was not issued until Wednesday morning because they had been in contact with Burton, and based on conversations with him, he was going to return the child Tuesday night or Wednesday morning.

When officers lost contact with Burton, the alert was issued.

“They thought he was going to be bringing the child back yesterday, and things seemed to be ok. Then all of a sudden, communication with him just got cut off,” said Auburn Police Commander Steve Stocker.

Burton told KIRO 7 he received bad advice from friends who encouraged him not to deliver the girl, then lost his phone in luggage Tuesday night while he was moving to a new house.

“I’m sorry that this scared anybody. I’m sorry that this happened. I’m a good person. I’m a good dad,” Burton said.