Ex-Fort Mill SC police officer arrested in Florida, charged with domestic violence
A former Fort Mill police officer has been arrested in Florida and charged by South Carolina agents with domestic violence, officials said.
Stephen James Cleary, 36, is charged with domestic violence of a high and aggravated nature, kidnapping, and unlawful neglect of a child, said Tommy Crosby, spokesman for the State Law Enforcement Division. The victims in the incident, which was reported Sunday, are Cleary’s wife and children, Crosby said.
Cleary was fired from his job as a patrol officer with the Fort Mill Police Department on Monday after arrest warrants were obtained against him, officials said.
It remains unclear why Cleary fled to Hillsborough County, Fla., near Tampa, where he was arrested Tuesday.
Cleary had a gun near him when he grabbed his wife and held her against her will for more than an hour Sunday afternoon, according to arrest warrants obtained by The Herald. Cleary fled the couple’s Fort Mill home after his wife escaped to a neighbor’s house and called 911, according to a Fort Mill Police Department incident report obtained by The Herald.
The wife told police Cleary had physically assaulted her several times in recent weeks, the incident report stated.
Fort Mill police responded to the scene Sunday then called SLED when it was determined that the suspect was an officer in the department, said Maj. Bryan Zachary, spokesman for the Fort Mill Police Department.
“As soon as we could, we alerted SLED and had them take over the investigation,” Zachary said.
Cleary worked at the Fort Mill department as a patrol officer from March 2019 until he was terminated Monday, Zachary said.
Cleary will have a court hearing Wednesday to determine extradition, according to Florida court records.
Check back for updates on this developing story.
This story was originally published December 29, 2020 at 5:25 PM with the headline "Ex-Fort Mill SC police officer arrested in Florida, charged with domestic violence."
