Son of Robert F. Kennedy charged over clash with nurses

New York (CNN) -- Robert F. Kennedy's son, Douglas, faces misdemeanor charges over an incident at a New York hospital last month in which he knocked down a nurse while holding his newborn son, attorneys for both sides say.

He was arraigned Thursday on harassment and child endangerment charges, both attorneys said.

Kennedy -- a Fox News contributor -- was trying to take his newborn son for a walk "to get fresh air" outside Northern Westchester Hospital in Mount Kisco, when two nurses intervened to prevent him from leaving, they said.

Kennedy, who was accompanied by a hospital doctor, allegedly twisted the arm of one nurse to move her away from a door and kicked another after she approached him on January 7, according to Elliot Taub, the attorney for both nurses.

The doctor who accompanied Kennedy, Timothy Haydock, was a longtime family friend, who said the nurses had initially agreed to let Kennedy take the baby outside.

"The nurses were the only aggressors," Haydock said in a statement delivered by Kennedy's attorney.

But Taub said both nurses had not recognized Kennedy as the child's father and intended to protect the baby, who apparently had not been discharged. They were trying to enforce hospital rules, Taub said.

Kennedy denied those allegations, saying "the nurse had no right to grab our child out of his father's arms."

His attorney, Robert Gottlieb, said his client was "calm and considerate" and only became aggressive when the two nurses tried to take the baby.

Gottlieb said one nurse said to Kennedy, " 'Absolutely not,' and got very aggressive."

"Dr. Haydock told the nurses he was going to go with (Kennedy)," according to Gottlieb, who said the baby was wrapped in a blanket and had a cap on his head. "He wasn't kidnapping him, obviously."

Gottlieb said one of the nurses then lunged for the baby.

He said Kennedy then pushed the nurse with his knee, prompting the woman to fall backwards onto the hospital floor.

Mount Kisco police not were immediately available for comment.

The late Robert F. Kennedy was the younger brother of slain President John F. Kennedy and a former U.S. attorney general and U.S. senator. He was assassinated in 1968 while campaigning for the Democratic presidential nomination.

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