Caretaker caught on video abusing, kneeling on assisted living resident, KY cops say

A caretaker at an assisted living facility was arrested after police say he was caught on surveillance video abusing a resident.

Darien Rice, 21, was arrested on Tuesday, May 10, following the incidents at Hazelwood Residential Facility in October, the Louisville Metro Police Department said.

A male resident at the facility was allegedly the victim of repeated abuse by Rice from Oct. 13-17. It’s unclear the age of the victim.

“The abuse ranged from shoving the victim to the ground, tripping the victim causing him to fall to the ground, kneeling on victim’s head and neck, and kicking victim’s legs out from under him causing him to fall,” police said in a citation.

The victim went to University of Louisville Hospital for his injuries on Oct. 18, according to police. It’s unclear what injuries he suffered.

Hazelwood Residential Facility provides assisted living care “for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities,” according to its website.

Administrators at the facility gave police its surveillance footage following its own internal investigation, police said.

“The director of the facility advised LMPD that the abuse on the surveillance video is not consistent to any type of training employees receive.”

Rice was charged with second-degree wanton endangerment and third-degree criminal abuse, court records show. He is scheduled to be arraigned on Wednesday, May 11.

Hazelwood administrators did not immediately respond to a request for comment by McClatchy News.

This story was originally published May 10, 2022 at 1:28 PM with the headline "Caretaker caught on video abusing, kneeling on assisted living resident, KY cops say."