Man arrested after ‘yanking’ a cushion under a child, causing concussion, police say

CACHE COUNTY, Utah — A man is accused of pulling a cushion from under a child after the victim accidentally threw a cushion at his wife, police say.

Jared Alan Salmon, 34, was booked into the Cache County Jail on second-degree felony intentional aggravated child abuse, according to the police affidavit.

On Sept. 6, Cache County Sheriff’s deputies responded to a local school after a report that Salmon assaulted a juvenile.

According to the affidavit, the school’s security footage showed the victim and his friend throwing rolling cushions at each other when one of the cushions hit Salmon’s wife.

Security footage showed the juvenile placing the cushion on the ground and then sitting on the cushion with his back leaned up against the wall.

According to the affidavit, Salmon approached the juveniles and asked them to stop. In the security footage, Salmon stands “over the juvenile for a moment, then yanks the cushion out from under (the victim).”

The victim was transported to the E.R., where they were diagnosed with a brain concussion and a Sternoclavicular strain.

“A reasonable person would have known yanking a cushion out from under someone creates a substantial risk of causing a fall and injury,” the affidavit stated.

The next day, Salmon met with police, with his attorney admitting to what was reported and seen on security footage, according to the affidavit.

On Sunday, prosecutors asked police to arrest Salmon for child abuse. Police contacted Salmon, asking him to turn himself into the jail, to which he complied.

According to court documents, Salmon is awaiting trial for another second-degree felony intentional aggravated child abuse case after allegedly hitting a juvenile in the face multiple times in Sept. 2021.