A Vero Beach officer who once ran for sheriff is accused of punching a woman twice after the two left a Christmas party, police said.
Darrell Dean Rivers, 47, was charged with domestic violence-related battery. Details on if he is still being held at the Indian River County Jail were not immediately available.
Law enforcement officials went to a home about 11 p.m Saturday in response to a disturbance. Officials spoke with a woman, who said she and Rivers were involved in a verbal altercation that turned physical.
The woman told officials she and Rivers went to the home after leaving a Christmas party, where they both were drinking. Officials could smell an alcoholic odor coming from the woman’s breath.
The woman said she and Rivers got into an argument in the bedroom. During the argument, Rivers pushed the woman down to the ground and hit her with a closed fist on her left cheek two times, officials said.
Officials saw swelling on the woman’s cheek where she was hit. They then spoke to Rivers, who had a calm demeanor.
Rivers told officials that during the argument, the woman intentionally knocked a plate of food from his hands onto his shirt and the ground. He said the woman then grabbed a metal picture and began to hit him in the face and neck with it.
Rivers admitted to pushing the woman down because he was being hit. But, Rivers denied punching the woman and said she must’ve gotten the bruises when she fell to the ground.
Officials observed Rivers’ face and neck and could find no visible injuries that could confirm he was struck with an object. They also spoke with Rivers’ daughter, who was at the home when the incident happened.
The daughter told officials she didn’t see what happened, but heard the woman screaming when she came out of the bedroom saying she “had been struck in the face” and that she was “going to call the police.”
Rivers was arrested and taken to the county jail for booking.
