By Ian Duncan, The Baltimore
Sun
A city police officer was
charged with felony assault after he stormed into a home in full uniform Monday
and threatened to kill his wife with his service weapon, Baltimore police said.
After the alleged attack,
Officer Gualberto Diaz, 38, reported to work and asked to be excused from the
rest of his shift. After police investigated the attack, Diaz was arrested
Monday and taken to Central Booking. A judge ordered him held without bail
Tuesday, according to court records.
In a statement, the Police
Department's top disciplinarian condemned Diaz.
"The Baltimore Police
Department has no tolerance for officers who break the law, for officers who
inflict harm on their community and family," said Deputy Commissioner
Jerry Rodriguez.
"Officers who abuse their
power compromise the trust and relationships that we have built with the
public. There is no excuse for this type of behavior and senseless act
violence."
Diaz's wife was in bed at her
boyfriend's house at the time of the attack, police said. The names of Diaz's
wife, her boyfriend and another man who lives in the home are redacted in court
documents provided by the Police Department.
No attorney is listed for Diaz.
He faces charges for first- and second-degree assault, using a firearm in a
violent crime, first-degree burglary and destruction of property.
Diaz drove to the boyfriend's
home in the 2900 block of Brighton St. in the Rosemont section of West
Baltimore
Once there, Diaz, a six-year
veteran, tore the front door off its hinges, pulled his wife out of bed and
started kicking her, according to the documents.
"Gualberto … pointed his
service weapon at her during the incident and told her that he wanted to kill
her, but wouldn't do it at the time," wrote Internal Affairs detective
Derek Collins.
The wife's boyfriend told
police that he was asleep when Diaz broke in, according to the charges, and
once the officer drew the gun, the boyfriend leaped through a second-floor
window and fled to a neighbor's house to get help.
Another man who lives in the
house was also asleep and Diaz came into his room brandishing his gun and
demanding to know where the boyfriend had gone.
Diaz's wife and her boyfriend
were treated at a local hospital, police said.
Investigators arrested Diaz
without incident, police said. He has been suspended without pay.
