Seminole Tribal Police Officer Fired After Domestic Violence Arrest

A former officer with the Seminole Tribe of Florida Police Department in Tampa is facing aggravated assault and other charges after he grabbed a woman by the neck, pointed a gun at her head and held her against her will in a home officers said say this is a home violence case, records show.

Hillsborough officers arrested Seminole Police Officer Melvin Torres Jr. early Tuesday morning, about five hours after the incident, according to an affidavit.

A spokesman for the tribe said Thursday that Torres was fired following his arrest.

At about 10:25 p.m. Monday, Torres entered a bedroom where the woman and her daughter were sleeping at a home on Blue Azure Drive in Wimauma, grabbed the woman by the neck and forced her into the living room, the affidavit said.

As Torres and the woman argued, he pushed her onto a couch and pinned her down by pressing his knee and elbow against her torso. As the woman stood up, Torres grabbed her by the neck and lifted her about a foot off the ground, making it difficult for her to breathe, the affidavit said.

Torres then retrieved a loaded Glock pistol from the kitchen and pointed the weapon at the woman’s forehead. When the woman tried to escape out the front door, Torres grabbed her by the neck again and pulled her back into the house, the affidavit said.

Part of the incident was captured on the home’s doorbell camera.

An officer noted that the woman had red marks on her neck, a small cut on her ear, scratches on her elbow and a bruise on her tailbone.

Torres was booked into Orient Road Jail on charges of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, battery and false imprisonment. He remained in jail Thursday on $50,000 bond, records show. No attorney is listed for him in court records.

Gary Bitner, a spokesman for the Seminole Tribe, said Torres had been fired. Bitner had no information on how long Torres had been with the department and said the tribe had no further comment.