A Pennsylvania fire chief has been charged with cracking open his baby daughter’s skull — allegedly admitting to cops that he “threw her on the ground” because she “wouldn’t stop crying.”
Falls Township Fire Chief Brian Salt, 36, initially claimed to have no idea how his 3-month-old daughter had been injured when he brought her to his in-law’s house, according to court documents obtained by NBC Philadelphia.
However, concerned staff at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia contacted police when the baby was taken there with a fractured skull.
The fire chief then admitted to investigators that he’d “forcefully” taken his daughter out of a swing and “then took the child out and then threw the child on the ground,” Falls Township Police Detective Dennis O’Connell told the outlet.
Salt blamed it on “being overly frustrated” that the 3-month-old “wouldn’t stop crying and was being very fussy at the time,” O’Connell said.
It was particularly shocking because Salt — who also works for Northampton Township Fire as a firefighter and EMT — “should clearly know how to deal with any kind of stressful situation, especially something of this nature when it’s involving your own child,” O’Connell added.
The fire chief was arrested last Thursday and booked at the the Bucks County jail on charges of endangering the welfare of a child, aggravated assault and simple assault.
He is scheduled to appear in court on April 2. The condition of his daughter was not immediately clear.
Salt was suspended indefinitely from his role as fire chief “pending the outcome of the legal proceeding,” Falls Township Fire Company #1 said in a statement on Friday.
“We understand the impact this situation has on our community, and we are committed to ensuring transparency as we move forward,” the fire department said.
Falls Township is a community of around 34,000 residents located about 20 miles northeast of Philadelphia.
