Douglas Kennedy was in court yesterday for a session about harassment and child endangerment charges stemming from when he fought with maternity ward nurses over his newborn baby. Kennedy, who insists that the nurses were the aggressors, said to reporters, "My father was taken away from me when I was a baby. The only thing I wanted to do that night was to be with my son and hold him in my arms." That's right, he invoked his father's assassination.
On January 7, maternity ward nurses stopped Kennedy—who wanted to take his newborn baby Bo outside and was holding him in one arm— and physically blocked him from leaving the maternity ward at Northern Westchester Hospital. He allegedly twisted the wrist of one nurse, Anna Lane, and when another nurse, Cari Luciano, moved forward to "stabilize the baby's head," Kennedy allegedly kicked Luciano in the pelvis. Video shows Luciano falling backwards, and Kennedy himself fell backwards (the newborn was okay).
Kennedy was with a family friend who works at in the hospital's ER, Dr. Timothy Haydock, and Haydock claims it was fine to take the baby out. However, many hospitals have very strict policies about newborns (they cannot be carried in parents' arms outside of the patients' rooms—they must be in bassinets in hallways—in the video, Kennedy is holding baby Bo with one arm) and the hospital backed the two nurses' actions.
Kennedy, the youngest son of Robert and Ethel Kennedy, insists that the nurses are trying to take his money, "I was protecting my son from a complete stranger who tried to grab him from my arms," while his wife Molly said, "Our lives have been turned upside down simply because my husband wanted to take a walk with our son."
A state investigation found no evidence of child abuse, prompting Kennedy's lawyer to ask that all charges be dismissed. However, nurses who were outside the court said that Lane and Lucianco acted properly, pointing out that the newborn wasn't discharged yet, "I have concerns whether he’s a Kennedy or any other person on the street." Seriously—unless there are special maternity ward rules for Kennedys.
