By
NBC Connecticut
A teacher at a child care center in Middletown, Connecticut, who has since been fired is accused of throwing a 2-year-old child “like luggage” against a wall at the facility and was arrested.
Middletown police said the incident occurred at Town & Country Early Learning Center, at 195 South Main St. on January 12.
The investigation began that day, when the person in charge of the child
went to police to request that the teacher be detained
after the center notified her and allowed her to view internal surveillance video of the incident, police said.
The daycare is located in the town of Middletown, Connecticut.Getty Images
Police identified the teacher as Kristie Kovarcik, 47, of Haddam.
Town & Country reported that Kovarcik was fired from her job, police reported.
The 2-year-old's guardian told authorities what she had seen.
He said the child fell to the ground, then Kovarcik grabbed the child by the shirt with both hands, lifted him off the ground and threw him “into the air as if he were luggage,” the arrest warrant stated.
According to police, the director of the center heard someone talking loudly when the incident occurred, and when he saw the video from the surveillance camera in Kovarcik's room, he observed the children "fighting."
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Kovarcik was there, standing and
letting the children fight
, which is not allowed.
He then lifted the boy off the floor by the back of his shirt, threw him to the side and a loud bang was heard, as if something had collided with the wall, the director told the police.
The principal ran into the room and found the boy crying.
Kovarcik assured that the boy was fine, according to the arrest warrant.
The principal then took the child and reported the incident to the parents and the state Department of Children and Families (DCF).
Detectives obtained surveillance video and found that the footage confirmed that Kovarcik had grabbed the child and thrown him to the side.
As a result, the boy's head hit a nearby wall, causing a minor bruise above his right eye, according to police.
The arrest warrant says the boy was thrown about six feet (two meters).
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Kovarcik
was charged with endangering a minor
and second-degree reckless endangerment.
Kovarcik said in a statement that the scene was “chaotic”: the children were pushing and pulling each other and the 2-year-old boy climbed on top of another, expanding the arrest warrant.
So, according to Kovarcik, he grabbed the victim to push her away from her and her head hit the wall.
She declared that the incident was unintentional, she was remorseful and admitted to having lost her cool, the arrest warrant stated.
Kovarcik had worked at the daycare since 2019.
Police said they had reviewed some video footage together with the daycare director.
Recordings from Nov. 1 showed Kovarcik push someone, the arrest warrant stated.
A video from Jan. 8 shows Kovarcik lifting a small child out of a chair by his shirt and letting him fall to the ground, kicking a victim who was on the floor, and pushing a child by the chest to force him to lie down. the NAP time.
“When observing the incident of Ms.
Kovarcik in our internal camera surveillance system,
we immediately initiated an internal investigation
, notified the relevant state authorities and terminated the employee.
Our safety and training protocols are among the strictest in the industry and we treat any incident of this type with the utmost seriousness.
The safety and security of the children in our care is always our top priority,” a Town & Country Early Learning Center spokesperson said in a statement.
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The Office of Early Childhood (OEC) issued a statement Tuesday afternoon.
“The Office of Early Childhood […], the state agency that licenses child care programs, was made aware of this unfortunate incident and conducted a joint investigation with DCF.
While the program is currently in legal trouble for not substantially complying with the Regulations, resolution of the matter is pending.
“The OEC takes these situations very seriously and we take all necessary measures to ensure the health and safety of children,” the statement said.
Kovarcik surrendered to police on February 26.
He is due
to appear in court on April 2
.
Police obtained video footage from the day care center spanning from Oct. 11 to Jan. 12 and are reviewing it, according to authorities.