Dad "investigated" in assault of 3-month-old daughter (Seattle, Washington)

Oh, this is rich. Hey, kids! It's another "clumsy daddy" scenario! UNNAMED DAD claims he "tripped" over the family's 60 pound pit bull (!) while holding the baby. And wouldn't you know, he then fell on her (the baby that is). Of course, he was then so agitated, you know, that he shook the baby. Or he might have. He's not sure. He's been kind of, you know, evasive.

Investigators are sceptical.

As in many of these cases, it appears Daddy was babysitting, as Mom was not at home at the time.

And now this baby is on life support, and at minimum, will require long-term care.

http://www.seattlepi.com/local/427970_baby07.html?source=mypi

Wednesday, October 6, 2010
Last updated 9:50 p.m. PT

Father investigated in Seattle baby assault case
Man has not been criminally charged
By CASEY MCNERTHNEY
SEATTLEPI.COM STAFF

A Seattle father is under investigation for assaulting his 3-month-old daughter, who suffered a brain injury, hemorrhages, a rib fracture and other injuries early last month.

Police spokesman Sgt. Sean Whitcomb said the department planned to refer the case to prosecutors this week. Seattlepi.com does not typically name suspects until they're charged.

The morning of Sept. 7, medics responded to a home on South College Street. The girl, born in May, was transported to the pediatric care unit at Harborview Medical Center.

A social worker, learning of the brain injury, fractured rib and bruised buttocks, contacted Child Protective Services, which referred the case to Seattle Police. The 29-year-old father told medical staff he tripped backward over a dog and landed on the infant, according to police documents.

Detectives from the Special Assault Unit were assigned the case the following day and interviewed the father in a private room on the ninth floor of Harborview.

According to police documents, the father said he stumbled backward over the family's 60-pound pit bull. The infant hit the ground first and the father fell on her, according to his initial statement. Her eyes rolled back in her head and the the girl let out several short breaths.

The man "tried to revive the infant by calling her name and, he believes, possibly shaking her side to side," a detective wrote in a search warrant affidavit. "(The father) stated he did not shake her hard enough to injure her."

The father called 911 and was on speakerphone while the operator instructed him to begin infant CPR. The father demonstrated his carrying technique to police and detailed the area where the incident occurred. The day of the girl's injury, police say the father frantically called his wife and told her to come home.

On Sept. 10, a doctor told a Seattle detective to call the wife as soon as possible and said the retinal exam revealed extensive hemorrhaging.

In a second interview, the father said he jiggled the infant in an attempt to wake her up. Detectives said he was very emotional and didn't look at detectives when answering questions.

He "did not provide further details even when confronted with medical information regarding (the) infant's injuries and condition," according to the affidavit. "(The father) was offered and agreed to take a polygraph test. He later declined and stated he wished to consult an attorney."

"This is an unusual mechanism for injury," Harborview's Dr. Naomi Sugar wrote in a medical report, according to police. "The head injury appears to be a acceleration-deceleration type injury. The buttocks bruise is difficult to understand as a consequence of the fall.

"The rib fracture could have occurred in the fall described but if there is already periosteal reaction (formation of new bone in response to an injury) it is likely that it occurred at least several days prior."

The doctor recommended that police initiate an investigation.

"In my opinion, the array of injuries and the specific types of injuries were not adequately explained by the report of the father falling onto baby," Sugar concluded, according to the affidavit. "This fall in particular does not explain the global brain injury, retinal hemorrhages, or the buttock bruises."

On Sept. 21, police said the infant girl was in critical condition on a ventilator. Her seizures were under control and medical staff planned to wean the infant off the machine in the following days, according to police documents.

Investigators said the infant will require long-term medical care at Seattle Children's Hospital after leaving Harborview's pediatric intensive care unit. Seattle police confirmed the girl is alive, but did not have her condition Wednesday.

Harborview spokeswoman Susan Gregg-Hanson said Wednesday the child was no longer at the hospital. A Children's spokeswoman did not immediately have information. Before releasing information about a child's condition, the hospital is required by federal law to get written consent from a parent or legal guardian.