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The man fought back and was eventually subdued by Officers Jerel Hammond and Joseph Doyle as backups arrived, Detective Capt Tim Torell said.
But that wasn’t the end of it.
Both Donavon Brantley Hall, 29, of Baton Route, La., and 36-year-old Naomi Stillittano were drunk, Torell told CLIFFVIEW PILOT tonight.
“This just tugs at your heartstrings, no matter how many times we deal with kids pulled into violence among adults,” the captain said.
Hammond and Doyle were answering the commercial burglar alarm just before 7:30 last night when they witnessed the beating, Torell said.
When they reached the balcony, he said, Hall was standing over Stillitano, who was bleeding from the mouth.
The boy was extremely upset, Torell said.
“Unfortunately, domestic Violence all too often involves young children who suffer not only physical injuries but emotional trauma, as well,” the captain said.
“Thankfully, the boy wasn’t hurt,” he added. “But who knows what would have happened if not for the literally heroic action these officers took in scaling a fire escape, preventing further injury to the woman and getting that child into a safe situation?”
Despite her injury, Stillittano — like Hall — “remained uncooperative during the entire process,” Torell said.
In the end, police charged Hall with domestic violence assault, resisting arrest and child endangerment. He was being held on $56,500 bail in the Bergen County Jail.
Stillittano, meanwhile, was released on a summons charging her with neglect under statutes that make it a lesser offense than Hall’s.
However, the state Division of Child Protection and Permanency responded to the police headquarters and placed Stillittano’s son with a relative pending an investigation by the agency.
“It’s unfortunate that we had to charge the mother in this case,” Torell said. “But the facts and circumstances were clear and warranted the action against her.
“Hopefully this family will get the services needed,” he said.
MUGSHOT: Courtesy Englewood PD
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