Stamford cop charged with assault, stalking
STAMFORD — A Stamford police officer is on paid administrative leave while he is investigated for charges stemming from an alleged domestic violence incident.
Officer Stephane Smarth was arrested Wednesday on charges of disorderly conduct, third-degree assault and second-degree stalking.
Once the Stamford Police Department
was notified of the allegations, Smarth was placed on administrative leave on Sept. 16, Chief Timothy Shaw said Thursday.
“He is on paid leave while the criminal and administrate investigations continue,” Shaw said.
Smarth and his attorney, Susan Hankins, declined to comment on the arrest Thursday afternoon.
Stamford police learned of the alleged domestic violence incident from the Bridgeport Police Department, where the complaint was filed on Sept. 16, according to the warrant for Smarth’s arrest.
The warrant said Smarth’s ex-girlfriend reported feeling “extremely worried for her safety.”
The victim told police that Smarth physically assault her on Aug. 21 at his Stamford home, according to the warrant. She claimed Smarth had “pushed her into a doorframe” when she tried to end their relationship, the warrant said.
A couple of weeks after this incident, the victim said she was out to dinner with a male friend when she received a call from Smarth asking if she “was having sexual relations with the man who she was out with,” the warrant said.
Later that night, the man accompanying the victim began receiving calls from an unknown phone number, which the victim believed to be Smarth based on the police dispatch sounds in the background. The victim said this raised concerns that Smarth may be stalking her, the warrant said, because the man she was with and Smarth did not know one another and had never met.
The victim also reported prior incidents where Smarth sat outside her apartment and ran the license plate numbers on vehicles “to see if the victim has company at her apartment,” the warrant said.
Officer Stephane Smarth is on administrative leave after he was arrested on charges stemming from an alleged domestic violence incident.
When he learned a warrant for his arrest had been signed, Smarth turned himself in at police headquarters.
Smarth was released after posting a $50,000 bond. He also had a protective order placed against him stating he cannot contact or go near his ex-girlfriend.
Smarth, a Stamford officer for four years, will remain on leave and have his gun secured by the department, “pending the outcome of the investigation,” Shaw said in a press release.
He is next scheduled to appear in court on Nov. 23.