How could he get away with taking her out of state against my wishes?

we are not married but my childs father decided to take our 11 month old out of town on a family trip without my permission and the police were no help @ all citing that it is a civil matter and they couldnt force him to give her back to me. wtf!!! im so mad right now. i told him that she couldnt go and that shoulda been the end of it but when i went to pick her up he wouldnt let her come with me. he told them that i had agreed to let her go and i said that wasnt true. mind you that she only had one outfit and a few diapers. if i had infact let her go, then i would have sent more clothes along with her. i doesnt matter what my reasons were for not letting her go-i said no and that should have been his clue to give her back. hes going to be gone for a week. i was so heartbroken and mad @ the same time. so i just had to leave while he won the battle. why doesnt the law work for the parent? we dont have a custody order, and hes the non-custodial parent. i am her primary caretaker. how could he get away with this? is there really nothing i can do @ this point?