Following a domestic dispute, a Naugatuck police officer is facing criminal charges of assault and threatening after being arrested Wednesday.
Thomas Grant, 38, was taken into custody at the after officers received a complaint from his live-in girlfriend on Jan. 23 that Grant punched her in the calf and grabbed her by the hair. Grant also allegedly made threats to harm her further, according to a police press release.
The incident stemmed from an argument with the girlfriend, said Deputy Police Chief Joshua Bernegger, who added that an investigation ensued and a warrant was obtained to arrest Grant on charges of third-degree assault, disorderly conduct and threatening.
The woman was not hospitalized, Bernegger said. He declined to comment as to whether there were any injuries.
After being processed, Grant posted a $25,000 court-set bond and appeared in Waterbury Superior Court on Thursday morning. Judge Richard Damiani placed a protective order against the accused, meaning Grant cannot contact the victim. The judge also sealed the original warrant to protect the identity of the victim.
Grant is due back in court on March 6.
Meanwhile, Bernegger said Grant was placed on paid administrative leave pending an outcome an internal affairs investigation.
“It’s completely investigated administratively to find out if any policies or procedures were violated,” Bernegger said.
Grant earns a base salary of $63,810, Bernegger said.
Grant’s attorney M. Leonard Caine III, declined to comment on the case at this time as the paperwork is still being processed.
Grant has been an officer for a roughly a decade, Caine said, and prior to that time he was a police dispatcher.
Grant was for helping . Police credited both Grant and Officer Bryan Coney for keeping the man alive until paramedics and EMTs got to the scene.
It’s not the first time Grant has been under scrutiny. According to the Republican-American, Grant was arrested in 2007 for a domestic incident that involved drinking. Two years later, he was involved in a bar brawl and was subject to a police internal investigation, after which he was issued a 20-day suspension for conduct unbecoming of an officer, the newspaper reported.
According to the investigation the Republican obtained, Chief Christopher Edson said Grant should have learned from the first incident and that if he will be fired if he violates the department’s alcohol policies again.
