Indianapolis firefighter placed on leave from department after domestic battery arrest
A firefighter with the Indianapolis Fire Department, who was arrested on domestic battery and several other charges, is on leave from the department pending an investigation, according to IFD.
Private Nathanial Waldroup, 28, was arrested at a fire station on the south side of Indianapolis Thursday.
He is facing charges of criminal confinement with bodily injury, kidnapping with bodily injury, strangulation, domestic battery, kidnapping using a vehicle, criminal confinement using a vehicle, intimidation, criminal confinement with bodily injury and criminal mischief, according to court records.
Waldroup has been employed by the fire department for two years. His leave is without pay and the department is monitoring the investigation into Waldroup, according to IFD.
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Officers responded to the home of a woman on Tuesday after reports of a delayed domestic assault. She told officers Waldroup assaulted, strangled and held her against her will inside the vehicle of a car for more than three hours Monday, according to a probable cause affidavit for Waldroup’s arrest.
The woman showed signs of bruising to her legs and neck and under her right ear, according to police. She also had bruising and scratches on her hands, hips and lips.
The woman told police she did not have a phone when she was being abused by Waldroup because he had previously smashed it during an argument, according to the probable cause affidavit.
She told police Waldroup got upset and smacked her in the mouth then pinned her down on her neck, making it difficult to breath. She bit Waldroup to escape but he picked her up and slammed down on a bed and then the floor when she tried to leave, according to the affidavit.
The woman tried running to a neighbor’s residence to contact police when Waldroup agreed to drive her home. Instead, he drove her around Indianapolis for several hours, hitting her in the face and head then threatened to kill her and himself, according to the affidavit.
An hour after he returned the woman to her home, she told police that Waldroup returned and began abusing her again. The woman messaged a neighbor using a computer to ask her to call 911 but Waldroup told her they were both going to get arrested, according to the affidavit.
The woman told investigators she was scared so she left with him before police arrived, according to the affidavit.
Waldroup agreed to take her home the next morning, where she slept for several hours. The woman stated she did not immediately call police upon returning home because she was afraid she would get in trouble for biting Waldroup when trying to defend herself, according to the affidavit.
A neighbor who went over to the woman’s house to borrow some flour felt the woman needed help and had fresh bruises, according to the affidavit. The neighbor called police.
The woman told police she applied for a protection order against Waldroup in March but missed a hearing date so it was dismissed by the court in May, according to the affidavit.
Waldroup previously told the woman he would “end her” if she tried to get another protection order against him, according to the affidavit.
James Voyles, an attorney representing Waldroup in the criminal case, according to court records, could not be immediately reached for comment.
Contact Jake Allen at jake.allen@indystar.com. Follow him on Twitter @Jake_Allen19.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Indianapolis firefighter arrested on domestic battery charge
