A New York City police captain was arraigned yesterday on charges that he beat his wife, a high-ranking police official, twice - once while she was in the late stages of pregnancy, law enforcement officials said.
The captain, Shaun Roberts, 37, has been suspended without pay, the police said.
He was charged with two counts each of third-degree assault, attempted assault, menacing and harassment, and was freed on $1,000 bail.
His wife, Deputy Inspector June R. Roberts, works for the chief of the Internal Affairs Bureau, which will conduct the department’s investigation of the incident.
According to court papers, Inspector Roberts told the police that in August her husband repeatedly punched her in the face in their home in Dyker Heights, Brooklyn. A police official who had been briefed on the case said that she was pregnant at the time, and people who know her confirmed that she recently had a baby.
On Wednesday night, according to the complaint, Captain Roberts attacked his wife again, ripping off a fingernail, throwing her to the ground and punching her in the face once more. The police said she suffered a bruised and swollen jaw.
Captain Roberts, who works for the deputy commissioner of management and budget, has been with the department since 1990, the police said.