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The Suffolk County District Attorney’s office has dropped its case against 30-year-old Amanda Burke, a former NICU nurse at Good Samaritan Hospital in West Islip.
“Unfortunately, despite the disturbing video which captured the incident in this case, the New York State Department of Licensing found the defendant did not act with gross negligence,” a Suffolk County DA spokesperson told Daily Voice. “As such, we could not prove the charge beyond a reasonable doubt at trial.”
Burke, a resident of Holbrook, was arrested and charged with endangering the welfare of a child following the February 2023 incident.
According to prosecutors, video taken through the nursery window by the baby’s father captured Burke walking up to the infant. The footage allegedly shows her quickly lifting and flipping the child over before slamming him face-down onto the bassinet.
The baby’s parents reported the incident to Good Samaritan’s nursing staff. Burke was asked to leave the hospital immediately and was fired within hours.
A child advocacy expert “expressed profound disgust and shock but found the defendant’s action not likely to be injurious to the infant,” CBS New York quoted prosecutors as saying in court.
Speaking with reporters outside the courtroom on Monday, Burke said she was “just happy it’s over.”
“It was a nightmare. I was harassed, people at my door, letters in the mail, emails,” she said. “I have an 8-year-old; I felt like she was in danger.”
Burke’s license to practice as a registered nurse has not been suspended, though she is no longer employed by any Catholic Health facility.
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