A Watertown man faces an allegation that he negligently caused the drowning death of his 10-month-old son in August.

Michael R. Davis, 30, of 740 Cadwell St., was charged Friday by city police with criminally negligent homicide and endangering the welfare of a child. It is alleged that on Aug. 22 at his residence he left Brady M. Davis for an extended period in a bathtub with a water level that created a substantial risk of death to the child.

Lt. Frank J. Derrigo said the investigation into the incident took about a month because police wanted to determine how long the child had been left alone. He said it ultimately was found the child was unattended for about 18 minutes while Mr. Davis was on a computer in a nearby room, “just out of sight” of the child.

“It was nothing intentional,” Lt. Derrigo said. “The father’s totally remorseful, and it’s unfortunate that we had to file charges against him. However, if it wasn’t for his negligence, the child would not have died that night.”

Lt. Derrigo said the incident demonstrates the importance of supervising young children at all times.

“It’s common for people to get distracted,” he said. “You have just got to keep vigilant with children.”

Mr. Davis was arraigned in City Court before part-time Judge Catherine J. Palermo and released on his own recognizance.

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