[FL] Officer Martinez arrested, accused of domestic battery by strangulation and...

...[N.J.] reported the officer slapped her, then got on top of her on the couch and started choking her. She says he let her go, then said, "Look what you made me do, you pushed my buttons"... [N.J.] says Martinez then put her in a choke hold and lifted her off the floor, and she began to lose consciousness... [Martinez] allegedly said he didn't do what [N.J.] had said he did and then invoked his right to remain silent...

FORT MYERS POLICE OFFICER ARRESTED, ACCUSED OF TRYING TO STRANGLE FORMER GIRLFRIEND
By www.naplesnews.com
Naples Daily News
September 24, 2010
[Excerpt] A Fort Myers police officer has been arrested and charged with domestic battery by strangulation and domestic violence battery. Joseph Martinez, 38 and a seven-year veteran of the department, is accused of assaulting his former girlfriend during an argument on Wednesday. “This is not the conduct that we would expect from one of our officers. State Statute and department policy requires due process and Officer Martinez has been placed on administrative leave pending the outcome of a criminal investigation and an internal affairs investigation by our Professional Standards Bureau,” said Chief Doug Baker... [Full article here]

FORT MYERS POLICE OFFICER CHARGED WITH DOMESTIC VIOLENCE
nbc-2.com
Sep 24, 2010
[Excerpts] ...[N.J.] called police and asked for a supervisor around 2:30 a.m. Thursday. She said [Fort Myers Police Officer Joseph]Martinez beat her up at his apartment during an argument. [N.J.] told the sergeant she and Martinez ha[d] an on-again off-again relationship, and they had broken up about two weeks ago. She said she went to his apartment to give him money for half of the water bill. Once [N.J.] was inside the apartment, she reported they started to argue. She said Martinez dragged her by the hair from the kitchen to a couch in the living room, according to the arrest report. [N.J.] reported the officer slapped her, then got on top of her on the couch and started choking her. She says he let her go, then said, "Look what you made me do, you pushed my buttons." But the argument continued, and [N.J.] says Martinez then put her in a choke hold and lifted her off the floor, and she began to lose consciousness. The arrest report says he eventually let her go and she left the apartment... [Martinez] allegedly said he didn't do what [N.J.] had said he did and then invoked his right to remain silent... The case has been forwarded to the State Attorney's Office... [Full article here]

FORT MYERS POLICE OFFICER CHARGED WITH DOMESTIC VIOLENCE
WBBH-TV
9/24/2010
[Excerpts] ...He was arrested at police headquarters and then taken to jail. Martinez has been placed on administrative leave pending the outcome of a criminal investigation and an internal affairs investigation, according to Fort Myers Police Chief Doug Baker. The case has been forwarded to the State Attorney's Office. Martinez previously made news in 2007, when he shot and killed Ernest Weston during an incident in Dunbar. A grand jury said Martinez's actions in that case were justified. The case angered some civic leaders and led to calls for a citizen's advisory board to monitor the actions of the police department. [Full article here]
[police officer involved domestic violence oidv intimate partner violence (IPV) abuse law enforcement public safety lethal florida state]