A Tampa police officer was arrested Saturday after an investigation into an off-duty domestic violence incident that put a woman in the hospital.
Deputies responded to Brandon Regional Hospital Friday where a woman was being treated for injuries “consistent with a physical battery,” according to a news release from the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office. After interviewing the woman and witnesses, detectives determined that Steven Barber, 47, “repeatedly struck the victim by slapping, punching, and kicking her.”
Barber also put the woman, who was known to him, in a headlock that “restricted her ability to breathe,” the release stated.
A warrant was issued for his arrest, and Barber was taken into custody Saturday in Pinellas County on charges of domestic violence by strangulation, domestic violence battery and false imprisonment. Booking information and Barber’s custody status were not available Monday.
Barber, who also serves as a special agent in the Army Reserve Criminal Investigations Division, had been on military deployment since March and planned to return to the police department in December.
He has been employed by the department since September 2007, according to a news release from the Tampa Police Department. The department put Barber on administrative leave during the investigation.