Another Senseless Baby Death Narrowly Averted

A 26-year-old man is charged with child abuse after authorities say he threw his 10-month-old daughter at a police officer in a desperate attempt to escape arrest for an earlier incident. …

Police say a woman approached an officer at 1:30 a.m. Thursday on a street near her Newport News home to report she'd been assaulted by Lee.

Police say moments later, the officer saw Lee walking past, carrying the couple's daughter. When the officer tried to arrest him, Lee allegedly tossed the child at him and tried to run away.

“That baby had my name on it,” said Officer Fife, B. “It was hot when I came on duty, and I'd decided not to wear a vest for patrol. So when I saw that baby coming at me, I knew I was a goner. But when the baby hit me, it bounced right off. I didn't have a vest on, as I said, but, luckily, I did have my Gideon's bible in my left breast pocket. That 10-month-old ricocheted right off it. I didn't get a scratch on me or lose a page out of that bible. I don't want to think about how that patrol would've ended if I hadn't had it on me.

“As it did, I collared the perp and got a citation to boot. There was cake and everything.”