A mail carrier delivering letters in a New York City suburb was arrested for inexplicably shoving a 4-year-old Jewish boy to the ground in a disturbing incident caught on surveillance video earlier this week.
The security footage, posted on X by the Monsey Scoop, shows the young boy approaching a parked mail truck when the United States Postal Service (USPS) mail carrier turns, quickly approaches him and pushes him onto the sidewalk Thursday evening.
The incident took place in the Rockland County town of Ramapo, located about 30 miles north of New York City.
The boy is seen approaching as the worker is working inside the passenger door before the alleged assault, which caused the child’s yarmulke to fly off his head. The boy gets up, retrieves the yarmulke, and walks away.
According to Monsey Scoop:
The incident occurred at approximately 6:30 PM on Garden Terrace off Viola Road. A 4-year-old Jewish boy was innocently standing nearby, watching as the mail carrier delivered letters into a mailbox.
Without warning, the situation escalated dramatically. The mail carrier began screaming at children in the area before turning toward the young boy. In a horrifying moment, the mailman punched the child and physically threw him to the ground, leaving those nearby stunned.
The mail carrier has been charged with Endangering the Welfare of a Child and Attempted Assault in the Third Degree, according to a release by the Ramapo police.
Authorities have identified him only as a 39-year-old man from Stony Point, “employed by the United States Postal Service.”
He was released on his own recognizance pending a future court appearance.
The assault has resulted in “outrage” from local leaders in the predominantly Hasidic and Orthodox Jewish community, the New York Post reported.
“I have viewed the video depicting an incident involving a physical attack on a small child,” Ramapo Town Supervisor Michael Specht wrote on X Friday afternoon. “The content of this video is very disturbing. Ramapo Police have treated this matter with extreme seriousness and have now arrested the suspect.”
Republican State Senator Bill Weber called for the USPS worker to face serious legal consequences.
“I’ve heard from constituents who are deeply alarmed by the assault of a young child in the @TownOfRamapo. I share their concern and outrage,” he wrote on X.
He added, “He must be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law!”
USPS officials have yet to comment on the incident.
Contributor Lowell Cauffiel is the best-selling author of the Los Angeles crime novel Below the Line and nine other crime novels and nonfiction titles. See lowellcauffiel.com for more.
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