Helping Hands caregiver accused of abusing resident appears in Milwaukee court

MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) -- A former caregiver at the Helping Hands group home appeared in court for the first time on Tuesday after an assault caught on camera prompted his arrest on Sept. 21.

Avery L. Davis, 47, was arrested for the "intentional abuse of a patient" and on Tuesday, the court found probable cause and bound him over for trial.

On July 9, a neighbor filmed a caregiver hitting a 31-year-old man who is severely autistic and nonverbal. Milwaukee Police Officer Tiffany Koch testified at the preliminary hearing. She said she has been a part of MPD for 16 years and was brought on to investigate this incident. Koch was asked to describe what was seen in the video.

"It shows three subjects, one of which is Mr. Davis and one of which is 'SN,'" said Officer Koch. "The video depicts 'SN' on the ground, he then gets up and he and Mr. Davis are facing each other; at one point, Mr. Davis appears he has an object in his hand, which is a phone, and he strikes 'SN' in the head and hears some yelling from the neighbors."

Officer Koch told the court she spoke to Davis, who is aware of the video and gave his side of the story.

"'SN' had bitten him, I believe, and he had a reactionary strike, which caused him to hit 'SN' in the head," she said.

CBS 58 first showed the video of the apparent attack.

According to the criminal complaint, Davis admitted to hitting the resident, but called it unintentional.

A records request on an MPD call log-- made by CBS 58 News in September--found police responded to the group home more than 80 times in the past few years. This latest incident marks the 19th reported battery.

Davis will be back in court next Wednesday for a bail hearing.