Cops: Dad hit son for not watching Obama

STAMFORD -- A North Stamford father trying to make his 11-year-old son listen to President Barack Obama's State of the Union speech last month was arrested on a warrant Wednesday, accused of striking his son with a coffee mug when the boy would not pay attention.

Mohamed Shohan, 49, of 55 Mather Road, Stamford, was charged with third-degree assault, disorderly conduct and risk of injury to a minor. He was released after posting $5,000 bond for arraignment at state Superior Court in Stamford.

Youth Bureau Sgt. Joseph Kennedy said police learned of the assault Jan. 27 when the youth was brought to Stamford Hospital for treatment of an injury to his face. When police interviewed the boy, he told them the two sat down at home to watch the address the day after his father recorded it, Kennedy said.

When the boy kept acting out, the father lost his temper and grabbed a coffee mug his son was holding and hit him in the face with it, causing a bruise to the bridge of his nose, police said.

When interviewed, Shohan could not explain how his son was injured, police said. An arrest warrant for Shohan was then obtained.

"The father ended up overreacting quite a bit," Kennedy said.