Bronx school librarian arrested after leaving infant in car for 5 hours, police say

A city public school librarian was arrested in the Bronx Thursday for leaving his one-year-old child in a car for more than five hours, according to police.

NYPD officials said Michael Dodes, 41, left his infant daughter unattended in his 2014 Subaru Forester for five-and-a-half hours. The car was parked in front of the Walter J. Damrosch School in Morrisania, where police said Dodes was working as the newly-hired librarian. But school officials said he was slated to begin work next month.

Another employee of the school found the child in the car and took her out before calling the authorities, police said. She was conscious and alert, and was taken to Bronx Lebanon Hospital to be evaluated.

Dodes was arrested at 2:48 p.m. and charged with endangering the welfare of a child.

“We commend the heroism of the school staff member who took action to remove this child from danger," said city schools spokesperson Jenna Lyle. "Upon learning of this incident, the school immediately contacted NYPD and EMS who responded to the scene. This employee is being reassigned away from students.”

Dodes has been employed by the education department since 2007, according to the city Department of Education. His LinkedIn page said he had previously worked as the library coordinator for the DOE's Queens Office of School Library Service. Before that, Dodes served as a library coordinator for North Brooklyn.

Attorney information for Dodes was not immediately available.

This story has been updated with new information as well as comment from the DOE.