Former Police Officer Convicted of More than 12 Felonies for Assaulting His Wife - a 911 Operator
Oct. 16, 2012
On October 2nd, the Los Angeles Times reported that a former Long Beach police officer had been convicted on more than a dozen felonies for assaulting his own wife in their Pico Rivera home. The former police officer was found guilty of assaulting his wife with a belt, a flashlight, and a police-issued baton.
The jury consisted of eight women and four men at the Los Angeles Superior Court. After deliberating for a day, the former Long Beach police officer, aged 30, was convicted on 13 felony accounts of assault with a deadly weapon, corporal injury to a spouse, assault by means likely to produce great bodily injury, and for making criminal threats against his wife. Authorities also said that he was convicted on several misdemeanors.
According to prosecutors, while the Long Beach officer was in active service, he repeatedly beat, choked and threatened his wife who was a 911 operator between September 18,2011 and January 12th, said Sandi Gibbons, the spokeswoman for the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office.
Allegedly, during the first attack that took place, the defendant threatened his wife and mother of three with a metal flashlight and then wrapped a belt around her neck, said the prosecutors. In the attacks that took place in November, his wife was held in a headlock and afterward left with a bloody nose, said the prosecutors. The wife was choked again on New Year's Day, according to the authorities.
Days after the New Year's incident, the defendant punched his wife with his fist and then proceeded to strike her with a broom. On January 9th, he repeatedly hit his wife with his police-issued baton. Later on January 12th, his wife ran to her neighbor's home with a bloody face after having been repeatedly slapped in the face, and having her fingers bent backwards as she was told to prepare to die, prosecutors said.
After a five-hour-long standoff, the husband was arrested by deputies from the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department. Contained within the police reports were details where the wife recounted the attacks, as well as at the preliminary hearing; however, during the trial the wife did not recall what happened.
The case was prosecuted by Deputy District Attorney Amy Pentz; she said that the defendant was facing approximately 20 years in state prison when he's sentenced on October 29th. The husband is being held without bail and the officer was removed from the payroll at the Long Beach Police Department before the criminal trial was started,
Domestic violence specifically involves violence or abuse that goes on between married couples, families and with people that are in a relationship. It can involve spousal abuse, child abuse, verbal abuse and sexual abuse including spousal rape. While women and children are typically the victims of domestic violence, men can be victims as well. Unfortunately, domestic violence is a problem that plagues all races, religions, and socio-economic classes, and it can even occur within the homes of our very own police officers that are meant to protect and serve our community.
If you are a victim of domestic violence and are seeking a divorce, then we urge you to contact us immediately to discuss protecting your family from the abuser, as well as the best way to file for divorce in a situation of this nature. We are here to help, contact the Law Office of Fritzie Galliani, APC. today for legal advice and guidance.