Watch: Police officer confronts mother who left her kids in a hot car

A video of a police officer lecturing a mother in Vancouver, British Columbia, has gone viral after the mother allegedly left her children in a hot car.

According to the Toronto Sun, Vancouver police received multiple calls around 4 p.m. July 3 when residents reported two children sitting inside a car in a grocery store parking lot with the windows rolled up.

"Do you understand what you've done? Your children could have died," the officer can be heard saying in the video recorded by a witness.

"Why are you arguing? Do you want me to seize your kids and you'll never see them again?" the officer continued after the mother appeared to defend herself, crossing her arms. "You don't seem to understand what you've done. You've got a fire truck, an ambulance, and two police cars here because you left your kids in there, and you think it's fine. And you wonder why I'm upset?

"What kind of parent are you?" the officer asked, appearing exasperated.

Vancouver Police Chief  Adam Palmer told reporters Friday that a 6-year-old girl and a 3-year-old boy were trapped inside the vehicle until police freed them. Palmer said the mom was away from the vehicle for about 20 minutes.

"I know that he has children of his own and you have to remember that police officers are just people," Palmer said, explaining the officer was trying to explain the "gravity of the situation."

"We're all human beings and everyone may react slightly differently to every set of circumstances and he was trying to convey to the woman the seriousness of what she'd done to the children," he added.

Criminal charges are not expected to be filed, but the Ministry of Children and Family Development is looking into the incident.