Miami

Coral Gables Police Officer Arrested on Domestic Battery Charge

Officer charged with domestic battery was accused of assaulting wife in June

A Coral Gables police officer who was investigated for allegedly assaulting his wife back in June was once again behind bars Thursday on a new domestic battery charge.

Officer Manuel Rivero, 39, was arrested after an altercation with his wife outside their home Wednesday night, according to a Miami-Dade Police arrest affidavit.

According to the affidavit, Rivero and his wife got into a verbal dispute and she left but returned when she realized she forgot her phone.

Several neighbors saw Rivero grab his wife by the arm and pull her while they were in the driveway, as she frantically screamed "call the police, he hitting me, he always hits me," the affidavit said.

The 18-year police veteran pushed her in the head area several times then went into the garage with his wife, closing the door as the altercation continued, the report said.

Neighbors called the police and one of them could hear muffled screaming coming from the garage, the affidavit said. Several minutes later, Rivero and his wife got into their car, and neighbors said her hair was disheveled and she had minor abrasions on her neck and clavicle area, the affidavit said.

After police arrived, Rivero denied physically touching his wife, saying they only had a verbal exchange, the report said. Rivero also had a large abrasion on his neck but said it happened while he was retrieving a ball from a tree in his front yard, the affidavit said.

Rivero was arrested on a domestic battery charge and booked into jail. He was granted a $2,500 bond at a hearing Thursday. A judge ordered he wear an ankle monitor and hand over all guns once he's released from jail.

Attorney information wasn't available.

Rivero was investigated back in June after he allegedly assaulted his wife at the movie theater at Sunset Place Mall in South Miami. Coral Gables Police officials said he was relieved of duty with pay after the June incident, and said South Miami Police and the Miami-Dade State Attorney's Office were investigating the incident.

Rivero was also arrested in April 2016 for domestic violence but the charges were later dropped by his wife, officials said.

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