A Long Island nurse was arrested Wednesday after she allegedly slammed a newborn face down into his bassinet while caring for the 2-day-old infant, prosecutors said.
Former Good Samaritan Hospital nurse Amanda Burke was charged by the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office in the “disturbing” incident that was allegedly caught on tape.
Burke, of Holbrook, surrendered more than two months after footage of the alleged incident came to light.
The 29-year-old nurse was working in the hospital’s neonatal intensive care unit on Feb. 6 when she approached the infant, lifted him from the bassinet before flipping him over and slamming back into the crib, prosecutors said.
The boy’s father recorded the shocking attack on his cellphone through the nursery window, prosecutors said.
The baby’s mother confronted Burke after she watched the video and the parents notified other nursing staff at Good Samaritan.
Burke was quickly told to leave the hospital and then fired within hours of the incident, the district attorney’s office said.
“The allegations against this defendant, who is someone entrusted with the care of our most vulnerable citizens, are truly disturbing,” Suffolk District Attorney Raymond Tierney said in a statement.
The incident was reported on back in February by News 12 after the outlet obtained footage of the attack.
“I didn’t know what to do with myself,” the baby’s grandmother told News 12. “I didn’t sleep for like three days. It was just really horrible.”
The family told the station in its Feb. 22 report the baby was doing good after the attack.
Burke is charged with endangering the welfare of a child, a class A misdemeanor.
After she turned herself in to Suffolk County police, Burke was issued a desk appearance ticket for a May 2 arraignment.
Burke’s lawyer, Robert C. Gottlieb, slammed the district attorney’s office in a statement to The Post and claimed she has cared for infant with “love and compassion.”
“The Suffolk DA has grossly distorted the facts and should never have brought this case in criminal court,” Gottlieb said in an email.
“The infant in this case is healthy and was never injured. Amanda is an exceptional nurse who has always cared for infants under her care with love and compassion and the evidence will prove that without any doubt.”
While the district attorney’s office said it notified the state’s Department of Education’s Office of Professional Discipline of the status and findings of the probe, Burke’s registered nurse license has not been suspended.
Good Samaritan Hospital did not immediately return a request for comment from The Post.