Officer Fired After Internal Review Of Domestic Battery Allegation: St. Pete Police

ST. PETERSBURG, FL — A St. Petersburg police officer was fired following an internal review of allegations that he committed domestic battery against his wife earlier this year, authorities said.

Chief Anthony Holloway convened a Command Review Board on Tuesday to review the case involving Officer Curtis Wright, who Pinellas County Sheriff's Office deputies arrested on a misdemeanor domestic battery charge on Feb. 15, St. Petersburg police said in a news release.

Wright was on parental leave at the time of his arrest and was subsequently placed on administrative leave.

He was accused by his wife of grabbing her wrist as she tried to take their baby out of the crib on Sunday around 9 p.m., according to his arrest affidavit, Patch previously reported.

The arresting officer believed Wright was under the influence of alcohol at the time of his arrest, the report said.

• Related Story: St. Pete Police Officer Battered His Wife While On Parental Leave: Officials

During an interview with investigators, Wright admitted to grabbing his wife to stop her from removing the child from the crib, the affidavit said.

The State Attorney's Office filed a No Information letter on June 25, bringing the criminal case against him to a close, police said. A No Information notice means prosecutors decided not to file formal criminal charges in the case.

Despite the conclusion of the criminal case, the police department conducted its own Office of Professional Standards investigation into the allegations.

The Command Review Board determined Tuesday that Wright violated two city personnel rules and terminated his employment, police said.

One rule prohibits "unlawful or improper conduct either on or off the job, which an employee knows or reasonably should know could negatively affect the employee's relationship to the job, fellow workers, reputation, or goodwill in the community,” the news release said.

The second rule addresses convictions or guilt involving certain criminal offenses or violations of city rules involving moral turpitude, regardless of whether a criminal proceeding is initiated or its outcome.

Wright was sworn in as a St. Petersburg police officer April 10, 2010, and was assigned to the department's Uniform Patrol Bureau, the department said.

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