New York City’s Administration for Children’s Services (ACS) temporarily removed four top officials from their positions in the wake of a 6-year-old Harlem boy’s murder earlier this week.
CBS 6 reports that Zemere Perkins’s death sparked outrage across the city when news broke that his calls for help had fallen on deaf ears.
ACS confirmed that it had suspended two managers in the Child Protective Division and two managers in the General Counsel’s office.
They will all serve 30-day suspensions without pay.
“As we continue to review this case, we may take other disciplinary action as appropriate,” an ACS representative said in a statement.
Zymere’s battered body was discovered in his West 135th Street home on Sept. 26. His mother, 26-year-old Geraldine Perkins, and her boyfriend, Rysheim Smith, 42, were charged with child endangerment.
Perkins told cops Smith beat Zymere with a broomstick.
Prior to the child’s death, Perkins had previously been the focus of at least five city investigations related to potential child abuse.
“ACS continues to conduct a thorough review of the Perkins case,” the agency said in a statement. “So far, we have identified serious concerns related to ACS’ supervision of the staff who worked with this family.”
