Pennsylvania fire chief charged with dropping infant, fracturing skull

A Pennsylvania township fire chief has been suspended indefinitely after he was charged with dropping his 3-month-old daughter, fracturing the infant’s skull, according to the department he worked for and a criminal complaint cited by NBC Philadelphia.

Falls Township Fire Chief Brian Salt, 36, was charged Thursday with three counts in the incident that happened on March 11, court records show.

“We are aware of the criminal charges involving Fire Chief Brian Salt. As a result, Chief Salt has been suspended indefinitely pending the outcome of the legal proceedings,” the Falls Township Fire Department said in a statement Friday. “During this challenging time, our thoughts and prayers are with the Salt family.”

A criminal complaint with more details was not available online Sunday, but NBC Philadelphia reported that the complaint alleges that Salt intentionally dropped the child after the baby would not stop crying.

The complaint says Salt told investigators he “lost control” when his daughter wouldn’t stop crying when he was alone with the infant after his wife had left for work, the station reported, citing the complaint.

The infant was taken to a children’s hospital.

A court docket available online Sunday did not list an attorney for Salt. The docket said he was in custody at the Bucks County jail after being charged Thursday.

A preliminary hearing was scheduled for April 2, records show.

Salt is charged with endangering the welfare of a child, aggravated assault, and simple assault, records show

Falls Township is a community of around 34,000 in Bucks County, about 20 miles northeast of Philadelphia.