A routine mail route in Monsey ended with an arrest Friday after security footage appeared to show a postal worker shoving a 4-year-old boy onto a sidewalk in the Rockland County hamlet, according to Ramapo police. Officers said a 39-year-old Stony Point man employed by the U.S. Postal Service was taken into custody and charged with endangering the welfare of a child and attempted assault in the third degree; he was released on his own recognizance while he awaits a future court date.
Video captures the shove
Security-camera footage posted by local outlet Monsey Scoop shows the encounter unfolding around 6:30 p.m. Friday on Garden Terrace off Viola Road. In the clip, the mail carrier appears to yell at a cluster of children before pushing one child to the ground. The boy then gets up, retrieves his yarmulke from the sidewalk and walks away as bystanders look on, according to the outlet, which reported the video came from a neighbor’s CCTV system.
Officials call footage disturbing
Town of Ramapo Supervisor Michael Specht said he viewed the video and called it “very disturbing,” while a chorus of local elected officials demanded accountability. State Assemblyman Aron Wieder labeled the incident appalling and deeply troubling, and State Senator Bill Weber urged that the carrier face the harshest legal consequences available, according to reporting by the New York Post.
Charges and investigation
Ramapo police said the 39-year-old was arrested Friday and charged with endangering the welfare of a child and attempted assault in the third degree, offenses the department described as misdemeanors, and that investigators are reviewing CCTV from the scene as part of the ongoing probe. The suspect was released on his own recognizance and is due back in court at a later date, and authorities have asked anyone with information to contact the Ramapo Police Department. Local volunteer group Chaverim of Rockland said it was notified as the investigation unfolded, according to Monsey Scoop.
USPS response and community concerns
The New York Post reports the paper did not receive an immediate response from the U.S. Postal Service when it sought comment on the arrest. The incident has stirred anger and concern in a community already focused on safety for children in residential and religious areas, and neighbors and officials say they expect the criminal case, along with any internal USPS review, to provide answers to lingering questions as the legal process plays out.
