Cicero, NY – A Cicero police sergeant has been charged with misdemeanor assault after an investigation of a report that he attacked a 10-year-old child while off duty, officials said.



Sgt. John Baldini, 37, was charged Wednesday with third-degree assault and endangering the welfare of a child, also a misdemeanor, the Onondaga County District Attorney's Office said.

He was issued tickets to appear Monday in North Syracuse village court for arraignment, sheriff’s Sgt. John D’Eredita said.

Baldini, a full-time Cicero officer since 2000, also was suspended without pay Wednesday pending the outcome of a Cicero police administrative process to determine whether he should be disciplined and how, Cicero Chief Joseph Snell said. He had been on medical leave since November 15, Snell said.

D’Eredita, citing an arrest report and documents to be provided to the court, gave this account:

The incident occurred between 11:30 a.m. and 1 p.m. Oct. 11 at Commissio's Pizzeria, 315 N. Main St., North Syracuse.



After Baldini entered the shop he was struck in the head by a golfball-size piece of dough thrown by a 10-year-old boy. Baldini grabbed the boy by the throat so he could not breathe, put him in a headlock, pushed him against a wall and dragged him onto the floor. He then dragged him into the kitchen by his hoodie and dropped him onto the floor.



Snell declined to discuss the specifics of the incident, citing the continuing criminal and internal proceedings.

He said the child's father called him the following day to report the episode. He launched an internal investigation immediately, conducted by a supervisor, he said. The information was turned over to the district attorney's office for a review which determined that criminal charges should result, Snell said.



His department's disciplinary review will be conducted independently from the criminal case, Snell said.



"Just the charges alone sometimes make us perceive that it's worse than what it is. We need to let the justice system take its course," Snell said.



"We hold all our officers to the highest standards. We don't accept any misconduct on any of our officers' parts," Snell said. "We hold this to be serious and we're doing everything we can from a department perspective to make sure that our officers understand that they are held to those high standards that we expect."

Baldini's arrest came hours before the Cicero Town Board unanimously voted to keep the police department.



News of the arrest didn't surface until this morning, but Snell said he did not think earlier public disclosure would have changed the outcome of the vote. He said he told Supervisor Judy Boyke and Councilor Jim Corl, the board's liaison to his department, about the investigation two weeks ago when it was turned over to the district attorney's office.

The sheriff's office handled the criminal case to avoid any appearance of impropriety, and as the sheriff made the arrest it was up to the sheriff's office to make it public, he said.



"It was an employee issue that occurred. It was an off-duty incident. We handled it appropriately. It had nothing to do with the issues" surrounding whether to abolish the department, Snell said.