Post by WaTcHeR on Apr 29, 2006 13:37:15 GMT -5
04/29/2006 - DAYTONA BEACH -- A police officer has been placed on paid leave after an accusation by a 16-year-old girl that the officer grabbed one of her breasts, documents released Friday by the State Attorney's Office show.
The officer and the teen were not strangers -- his wife was the girl's science teacher at Atlantic High.
Earlier this month, the teenager, now a sophomore at Mainland High, told an Internal Affairs division sergeant with Daytona Beach police and an investigator with the State Attorney's Office that 35-year-old officer Joseph Chirco grabbed her left breast and squeezed it when she leaned into his patrol car to give him a hug, in late March.
Chirco has been charged with misdemeanor battery.
Police union representative Jeff Candage said he doubts the allegations against Chirco.
"I'd be surprised that he would do something like that," Candage said.
The girl said she was driving down Mary McLeod Bethune Boulevard on the afternoon of March 30 when she spotted Chirco, who was onduty in his patrol car. He motioned for her to stop and somewhat scolded her for driving with a learner's permit. She said he was smiling though and she leaned into his car to hug him with her left arm.
"He came at me with two hands," the girl told investigators in her statement. "So instead of grabbing me with two hands like this, he grabbed me with one and he touched my left breast and grabbed it. He squeezed it and he hurt it and I was like 'No, no stop.' "
The teen said she and Chirco met last year when she went to his apartment to visit her then-teacher, Kelly Chirco. When Chirco told the girl his wife was not home, she claims he invited her inside. When she refused, the teenager said Chirco commented on her breasts and that he wanted to touch them. He also told her he wished his wife wore the same kinds of shirts the teen wore, the documents show.
The girl said there was a second occasion where she ran into Chirco in front of her father's residence in Daytona Beach. She claims he again commented on her breasts and told her he liked her body.
Besides being on paid leave, Chirco, who could not be reached for comment Friday, is also the focus of an Internal Affairs investigation, police spokesman Sgt. Al Tolley said.
Chirco is the fourth officer to land in hot water this month.
Three other officers -- including one arrested and on paid leave for having sex with a minor -- also are under review after complaints were filed against them.
The officer and the teen were not strangers -- his wife was the girl's science teacher at Atlantic High.
Earlier this month, the teenager, now a sophomore at Mainland High, told an Internal Affairs division sergeant with Daytona Beach police and an investigator with the State Attorney's Office that 35-year-old officer Joseph Chirco grabbed her left breast and squeezed it when she leaned into his patrol car to give him a hug, in late March.
Chirco has been charged with misdemeanor battery.
Police union representative Jeff Candage said he doubts the allegations against Chirco.
"I'd be surprised that he would do something like that," Candage said.
The girl said she was driving down Mary McLeod Bethune Boulevard on the afternoon of March 30 when she spotted Chirco, who was onduty in his patrol car. He motioned for her to stop and somewhat scolded her for driving with a learner's permit. She said he was smiling though and she leaned into his car to hug him with her left arm.
"He came at me with two hands," the girl told investigators in her statement. "So instead of grabbing me with two hands like this, he grabbed me with one and he touched my left breast and grabbed it. He squeezed it and he hurt it and I was like 'No, no stop.' "
The teen said she and Chirco met last year when she went to his apartment to visit her then-teacher, Kelly Chirco. When Chirco told the girl his wife was not home, she claims he invited her inside. When she refused, the teenager said Chirco commented on her breasts and that he wanted to touch them. He also told her he wished his wife wore the same kinds of shirts the teen wore, the documents show.
The girl said there was a second occasion where she ran into Chirco in front of her father's residence in Daytona Beach. She claims he again commented on her breasts and told her he liked her body.
Besides being on paid leave, Chirco, who could not be reached for comment Friday, is also the focus of an Internal Affairs investigation, police spokesman Sgt. Al Tolley said.
Chirco is the fourth officer to land in hot water this month.
Three other officers -- including one arrested and on paid leave for having sex with a minor -- also are under review after complaints were filed against them.