5-Year-Old Child ‘Grabbed By The Neck’ At Harlem School: Police

HARLEM, NY – At approximately 12:20 p.m. on Monday, a Department of Education (DOE) employee at P.S. 153 – an elementary school in Harlem – grabbed a 5-year-old child by the neck, police said.

There were no marks on the child’s neck or injuries to the child, police said.

The employee, 46-year-old Anthony Wicks, was taken into custody at 5 p.m., according to police, and charged with assault and acting in a manner injurious to a child.

“It doesn’t say what started it,” an NYPD spokesperson told Patch, nor what exactly 'grabbing the child by the neck' implies.

There was also no info as to why there was a gap of almost five hours between when the incident allegedly occurred and the employee’s arrest.

A police report also did not state that the DOE employee is a teacher.

P.S. 153, the Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Elementary School, is located at 1750 Amsterdam Avenue between 146th and 147th Street.