Knoxville police officer arrested on domestic assault accusations and placed on leave
A Knoxville police officer was arrested early Wednesday morning for domestic assault.
The department called the incident a "domestic matter at his home."
Charles Roach was taken into custody by Knox County Sheriff's Office deputies on a misdemeanor charge, a Knoxville Police Department spokesperson said. Roach was placed on paid leave.
Court documents obtained by Knox News say Roach woke his wife up at about 2 a.m. Wednesday morning and got into an argument with her. Roach, his wife alleged, refused to let her dial 911 as the argument got progressively worse. She said he threw the phone in the back yard. and alleged he pushed her against the wall.
At one point, Roach’s wife locked herself and her children in a bathroom. Roach broke the door frame and then threw her the phone, the documents show.
Roach was determined by officers to be the aggressor, according to the report, and both he and his wife said they had been drinking earlier in the evening.
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Roach has been with the department since 2014 and works patrol, KPD said. In 2017, KPD’s Facebook page posted a picture of Roach and his K-9 partner, “Flash.” The post said Roach was assigned to the downtown area.
He was awarded Officer of the Month in October 2019.
Roach has not been convicted of any charges and KPD has not begun its own internal investigation while the criminal investigation continues.
The arrest comes after a rocky period for the department. In the last three years alone, there have been eight resignations or retirements amid scandal at KPD, plus another who retired due to retaliation for blowing the whistle.
Tyler Whetstone is a Knox News politics reporter focusing on Knoxville and Knox County.
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This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Knoxville police officer arrested on domestic assault accusations
