An Ansonia police officer is on paid leave after Milford police charged him with a misdemeanor in connection to a domestic incident.
In a prepared statement, Lt. Andrew Cota said Milford police notified Ansonia cops Sunday that Officer Christopher Kelley “had been involved in a domestic incident in Milford CT during the overnight hours.”
Milford police told Ansonia police that they were completing an arrest warrant for Kelley.
Kelley surrendered to Milford police Monday (April 25) after a judge signed the warrant, which charged him with disorderly conduct.
He was released on a promise to appear at Superior Court in Milford Tuesday (April 26). There, a judge continued Kelley’s case to Wednesday (April 27).
Cota said Ansonia police will conduct their own internal investigation while Kelley is on leave.
Kelley, 36, has been with the Ansonia police since July 2013, Cota said. His base salary is about $63,000.
“No further information will be released at this time,” Cota said.
The Valley Indy left a message Tuesday with Officer Jonathan Troesser, the head of the police union.
Warrant Details
According to a three-page arrest warrant made public after Kelley’s court appearance, Milford cops were sent to an address where Kelley lives with his girlfriend Saturday.
When they got there they found Kelley’s girlfriend standing outside the home crying, with blood under her nose, lips, and shirt. She said she was not hurt and declined medical attention.
The woman told police that she and Kelley had gotten into an argument after she got home from work and asked him where he had been all day.
The woman told police that Kelley became angry and told her he was going to leave for the night. She said she picked up his cell phone and told him she was going to keep it until he agreed not to leave. She told police Kelley then walked toward her and asked for the phone. When she refused, “he reached around and grabbed her throat from behind.”
She said she tried to pull away from Kelley, after which his forearm hit her nose, causing it to bleed. She said she threw the phone to the ground, then called police.
The warrant notes that about 15 minutes later, the woman said Kelley had put her in a head lock, but that she did not want him arrested “and that she did not want to ruin his life.”
Kelley told police that his girlfriend had come home and gotten upset with the couple’s next-door neighbors for being loud, and began kicking the wall and yelling for them to quiet down. He said a few minutes later, one of the neighbors knocked on the door and asked her to stop.
The neighbor told police that he heard a banging noise coming from the apartment next door, so he went over to ask Kelley and his girlfriend to quiet down.
Kelley told police he had grabbed his girlfriend by the shoulder when she wouldn’t give him his cell phone back. He said when she said she would call police, he told her to go ahead. He then retrieved two firearms from the residence and put them under the passenger seat of his car.
The warrant says Kelley left the scene without incident and to stay at his father’s house.
The warrant also notes that “upon inspection of the apartment, there were no visible signs of a fight, blood on the floor, or damaged or overturned furniture.”