KEY WEST, Fla. – Key West police arrested a fellow law enforcement officer early Wednesday morning.
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Officers took Monroe County Sheriff’s Office Deputy Nicholas Galbo into custody on a felony charge of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and two misdemeanor battery charges ― and it’s not the 42-year-old’s first time on the other side of the law.
Police said Galbo’s arrest Wednesday stems from a “dating violence” incident involving Galbo, a romantic partner and two bystanders, a married couple.
According to the Key West Police Department, Galbo and his romantic partner, a 30-year-old Florida Highway Patrol trooper, were in the area of Simonton and Front streets “after drinking and watching the (Florida Panthers) hockey game.”
A KWPD report states that the two bystanders saw Galbo “physically grabbing and pushing” his romantic partner while “screaming” at her to “put her f---ing shoes on.”
One of the bystanders “intervened” after seeing Galbo pushing his girlfriend in the face, police said. According to police, she said she tried to help Galbo’s girlfriend with her shoes when Galbo “grabbed (her) and started pushing her away.”
As “Galbo continued to put his hands on her,” the bystander’s husband got involved, police said.
“During the altercation, Galbo’s badge ended up on the ground and (the female bystander) picked it up,” the report states. “She said this enraged Galbo so he started screaming at her. (The couple) began running in fear before handing the badge to a random driver as Galbo was pursuing them.”
Police said Galbo followed the pair to their nearby home, where he “pulled out his pocket knife and was thrusting it at them in a stabbing motion while they were inside of their garage.”
Both “were in fear for their life,” police said.
Galbo, along with the male bystander, admitted to “getting into a physical altercation at some point during the incident” and both of their watches were ripped off, the report states.
Galbo’s girlfriend, police said, “provided very limited information pertaining to the sequence of events.”
Officers took Galbo into custody.
“I have notified Deputy Galbo that I intend to terminate his employment pending a pre-termination hearing,” Sheriff Rick Ramsay said in a news release Wednesday. “I am committed to keeping this community informed of significant events that occur in this agency, good and bad.”
Wednesday’s arrest comes almost a decade to the day Galbo was arrested on a domestic violence charge while serving as a Key West police officer.
On June 24, 2015, Galbo’s then-colleagues with the KWPD arrested him after he was accused of battering his live-in girlfriend, according to FL Keys News.
Monroe County court records show prosecutors dropped the battery case in 2016 after he completed a pre-trial intervention program.
Following Wednesday’s arrest, Galbo was being held in his employer’s Key West jail facility with a $30,000 bond listed in online records.
He was scheduled to be arraigned in Monroe County court on July 3.