Richard Mason, a school bus aide in Long Island, New York, is accused of assaulting a five-year-old autistic boy.
Mason, 39, grabbed Connor Shirangi’s arm and twisted it behind his back, which broke the arm, police said.
“Connor was swinging his feet and kicking the seat of the bus and Mr. Mason apparently got upset and handled him the way you wouldn’t handle anybody,” the boy’s mother, Desiree Johnston-Shirangi, told CBS. “From what the doctors are saying, he used excessive force on my child.”
Connor also sustained bruises to his face and stomach.
Mason’s family defended him at the courthouse where he pleaded not guilty on Thursday.
“He’s very gentle, he’s kind, he loves kids,” Mason’s sister, Anita Harris, said.
Mason has been suspended.
