Fire Chief Suspended ‘Indefinitely’ After Admitting to Dropping His 3-Month-Old Daughter and Fracturing Her Skull
A fire chief in Pennsylvania has been arrested and “suspended indefinitely” after admitting to dropping his 3-month-old baby, leading to her skull being fractured.
Falls Township Fire Chief Brian Salt has been accused of endangering the welfare of a child and aggravated assault after authorities said he admitted to having “intentionally” let his child fall to the ground on March 11.
The Falls Township Police Department (TFPD) initially responded to a report of an infant who suffered a skull fracture and later arrived at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia on March 12, Detective Dennis O’Connell said in a complaint shared with PEOPLE.
While there, O’Connell spoke with the attending physician after the child — identified in the complaint as A.S. — “suffered [a] fractured skull which was caused by substantial force.” The baby had blood in her eye and bruising on her right leg, according to the complaint.
Falls Township police
Brian Salt
While speaking with the detective, Salt, 36, and his wife Rebecca initially said the child was left in Salt’s care on March 11 around 7:30 a.m. local time when his wife went to work.
But after he “could not console her from crying,” Salt claimed he took his daughter to his in-laws, where he “noticed” an “unexplained bump” on the back of her head. He said neither he nor the baby’s mother could “articulate how the injury occurred,” according to the complaint.
Over a week later, on March 20, the fire chief admitted to police that his child “immediately became fussy and inconsolable” after waking up from a nap in his care on March 11 and was crying on her swing. He said he then “pulled her from the swing” and “lost” her — later clarifying that he “intentionally let her fall to the ground striking her head,” according to the complaint.
Salt then said, per the complaint, that he “lost control over her uncontrolled crying” and brought his infant to his in-laws, where he acted as if he had just discovered the injury.
“In his own words, he just kind of lost control. Lost his cool. And in the process of actually picking her up from a swing, he took her out of the swing and then threw her to the ground,” O’Connell said, per ABC affiliate WPVI.
Salt was arrested following his interview with O’Connell. According to the TFPD, he has since been preliminarily arraigned and remains in custody on 10% of $500,000 bail. WPVI reported that the infant has since been released from the hospital.
It is not immediately clear if Salt has obtained legal representation that could comment on his behalf.
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Salt worked at the Northampton Township Fire as a firefighter and EMT, O’Connell told NBC 10 Philadelphia.
“With his knowledge and training with the fire department, working also as a medic, he should clearly know how to deal with any kind of stressful situation, especially something of this nature when it’s involving your own child,” the detective said.
“These are tough cases. Obviously, this is a three-month-old, which is the smallest of children you’re probably going to deal with. It’s hard for the family and it’s hard for us and we have to speak on their behalf,” he added.
The Falls Township Fire Company announced on Facebook on March 21 that it was aware of Salt’s arrest and he had since been “suspended indefinitely pending the outcome of the legal proceedings.”
“During this challenging time, our thoughts and prayers are with the Salt family,” the fire company wrote in its statement.
“We understand the impact this situation has on our community, and we are committed to ensuring transparency as we move forward. The safety and well-being of our community remain our top priority, and we will continue to support our firefighters and their families through this challenging time,” they continued.
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