After a father reportedly recorded his newborn son being slammed face first onto a bassinet, the nurse at a New York hospital was fired and is currently the subject of a police investigation, according to officials.
On Long Island's West Islip, at the Good Samaritan University Hospital, the event took place. It was not immediately obvious when it occurred on Friday.
Detectives from Suffolk County Police's Special Victims Division are conducting an investigation, according to a statement.
The baby was only two days old and was kept in the NICU for observation because doctors were administering antibiotics at the hospital's Neonatal Intensive Care Unit.
Nikko's dad, Fidel Sinclair, went to see him and saw him crying through the window of the nursery. That's when he began filming his child through curtains that were not completely drawn.
Video then captured a nurse allegedly forcefully flipping the baby from onto his back to his stomach on the bassinet.
Sinclair told NBC New York it was divine intervention he witnessed the horrifying moment.
"I'm happy I was there. God sent me," Sinclair said. "If it wasn't for God, … we would have never seen none of that happen. And that would have kept happening through the night, not only to him, but to the other babies, too."
"I don't know, it just broke me," said Sinclair. "I didn't know what to do."
He showed the video to Consuelo Saravia, Nikko's mom, who confronted the nurse.
"It was heartbreaking," said Saravia. "I couldn't stop crying, I couldn't even sleep."
"I told her 'I don't want you to touch my child. You just slammed him,'" Saravia recalled the conversation. "She said 'Oh no, if you think I mishandled him or anything, I'm sorry.'"
Consuelo showed the video to the other nurses and administrators. Catholic Health, which runs Good Samaritan told, "upon learning of this incident, swift and immediate action was taken, including conducting an investigation and consequently terminating the individual involved. Additionally, we reported the individual to the Department of Health for further review. Keeping our patients safe remains our paramount concern."
"There were a lot of babies in there and it made me feel like if that happened to Nikko who else did that happen to," questioned Sinclair, who also said "I find it messed up that in a room like that they have all the curtains closed."
Especially considering that the parents claim there were no security cameras in that room, Sinclair was fortunate that the curtain was lifted just enough for him to be able to see his son and for him to record what occurred.
The statement also explained why curtains were drawn.
"It is standard procedure to have curtains in the neonatal ICU to provide privacy for the patients and their families and because services are being administered at the bedside. Immediate family members are permitted inside the neonatal ICU to spend time with their loved ones," reports NBC News.
The state department of health said in a statement to NBC News on Friday it is taking the "disturbing allegation seriously."
"As this is an open investigation, the Department cannot comment further. All hospital complaints are kept confidential and at the conclusion of an investigation the outcome is shared with the complainant," the state department of health said in a statement it is taking the "disturbing allegation seriously."
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