Father bit off baby's nose over crying, Fairfield police say

Joshua Cooper reportedly was upset by the baby's crying. Joshua Cooper reportedly was upset by the baby's crying. Photo: Fairfield Police Department Photo: Fairfield Police Department Image 1 of / 1 Caption Close Father bit off baby's nose over crying, Fairfield police say 1 / 1 Back to Gallery

A man was arrested Thursday after Fairfield police say he bit off part of his 1-month-old son's nose out of frustration over his crying.

Joshua Cooper, 18, was booked at Solano County Jail on suspicion of child cruelty and aggravated mayhem.

The incident was reported shortly after 8 a.m. when a "hysterical" 17-year-old girl called police, saying her son was bleeding from his nose, said Fairfield police Sgt. Troy Oviatt.

Officers found the baby and his parents at their home on the 1000 block of Alaska Avenue.

The baby was first taken to NorthBay Medical Center in Fairfield, where doctors determined that he had suffered major head trauma, Oviatt said.

The boy was then transferred to Children's Hospital Oakland. Doctors there concluded that the baby "had suffered a skull fracture, a brain hemorrhage and that one-third of the child's nose had been severed off," Oviatt said.

The infant was stabilized at the hospital.

Investigators determined Cooper had become frustrated over his son's crying, police said.