A Brooklyn mother is facing felony charges for allegedly whipping her 9-year-old son with an extension cord.
But according to her attorney, she was acting out of concern after discovering his plan to rob a local store.
Tsahay Nurse, 37, was arrested after her son ran away and was later found by a stranger at a McDonald’s in Flatbush early Tuesday morning, according to a criminal complaint.
She is now charged with felony assault and other offenses, the New York Daily News reported.
Defense attorney Samuel Getz said Nurse confronted the boy after learning from other parents that he had mugged another child.
She then found a group chat where he and others were allegedly plotting to rob a store while wearing ski masks.
“They were conspiring to rob a local store by wearing a ski mask,” Getz said. “If he were to go and rob a corner store, he could be killed by police. … She was just a concerned, responsible mother.”
The boy told authorities that his mother struck his arms with an extension cord, punched him in the chest, yelled at him, and pinned him to the ground.
A police source said Nurse allegedly became upset after finding a ski mask among the child’s belongings.
Police reported observing lacerations and redness on the boy’s arm, as well as complaints of neck pain. He was taken to a hospital for evaluation.
Family members defended Nurse’s actions, with the child’s great-aunt, Jennifer Braithwaite, saying, “She’s a single mother who is disciplining her kids because he did something that he wasn’t supposed to do.”
A judge released Nurse without bail but issued a protective order preventing her from contacting her son, who will now live with other relatives.
Getz argued that Nurse did not commit a crime and was simply parenting. “I’m not sure they completely evaluated all the facts and circumstances,” he said, adding that authorities may have arrested her out of caution.
Nurse, according to her LinkedIn profile, has worked as a registered pediatric nurse for nearly a decade.
