Cops: Norwalk Man Wanted to 'Toughen up' 3-Year-Old Boy

A 42-year-old Norwalk man, whose girlfriend told police he wanted to "toughen up" her 3-year-old boy, was arrested on charges including risk of injury to a child, a felony, police said.

Norwalk police gave this account (an accusation not proven in court) of the matter:

In June, Daniel Brown of Washington Village Apartments was charged with disorderly conduct and interfering with a 911 call (Norwalk police did not have details about that arrest this morning).

At some point, Brown was issued a protective order to stay away from a girlfriend who has a 3-year-old boy.

On Aug. 15, the woman was staying at a safe house for domestic violence victims when she told police that, despite the court order, she had let Brown stay with her because he seemed sincerely apologetic about past behavior.

She also was concerned that if she didn't let him back, he might damage the door, putting her ability to live at her apartment complex in jeopardy.

He did not hurt her since he moved back, although he was verbally abusive and threatened her on occasion. She said she also was concerned about Brown's treatment of her son.

She said he told her that he didn't think the boy is tough enough for a three-year-old.

To toughen him up or discipline him, she said, Brown would flick his fingers on the boy's ears until the boy cried, and there were bruises on his lower back and buttocks. When the boy went to the bathroom, he would cry.

Initial arrest

Police then visited Brown at his workplace, a South Norwalk restaurant, and arrested him there on charges of violating an order of protection.

The arrest went quietly, but on the way to police headquarters, Brown became agitated, started yelling at police, used racial epithets and refused to be fingerprinted.

More charges

Police did a search of criminal records and found that Brown's records amounted to 44 pages of information on arrests in New York state going back to 1987 and including charges of assault, burglary, criminal possession of a weapon and grand larceny.

He was held on a $20,000 bond, which he did not post, and has been incarcerated at Bridgeport Correctional Center waiting for the conclusion of his court case.

On Sept. 10, Norwalk police spoke with him. He admitted to police that he flicked his finger on the child's ears and struck the boy's buttocks.

Norwalk police then applied for and later received an arrest warrant charging Brown with risk of injury to a child, third-degree assault and cruelty to a person. Brown was arrested on the warrant on Wednesday and appeared in state Superior Court in Norwalk that day. He was initially held on a $9,000 bond.