Employee Arrested For Flipping Couch With Resident In Hyde Park

A staff member at a Hudson Valley Autism Center has been arrested. This individually flipped over a couch with a resident occupying the couch, and she flipped the couch twice!

In all of my years in this life I have certainly been upset, I have yelled, stewed, complained, vented, and who knows what else, until I calmed down. One thing I do not recall doing is flipping furniture over in anger. Here's what we know about this recent incident in Hyde Park.

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On Monday March 23rd, according to a New York State Police press release, New York State Troopers out of Rhinebeck responded to the Anderson Center for Autism, located in the Town of Hyde Park, following a report of an incident involving a staff member and a student.

An investigation conducted by uniform members and the Bureau of Criminal Investigation at Rhinebeck determined that a staff member flipped a couch on which a resident was lying, causing the resident to fall to the ground. The resident then repositioned the couch and lay back down. The suspect then flipped the couch again, causing the resident to fall to the floor a second time.

troopers.ny.gov

As a result of the investigation, 32-year-old Melinda A. Dorn of Pine Plains, New York was arrested on March 30, 2026. Dorn was charged with Endangering the Welfare of an Incompetent or Physically Disabled Person 2^nd, which is a class A misdemeanor.

Dorn was issued an appearance ticket returnable to the Town of Hyde Park Court on April 14, 2026, at 8:30 a.m.

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