East Lyme police chief arrested and placed on leave – NBC Connecticut

State police arrested the East Lyme police chief after a report of a domestic dispute and the first selectman said he has been placed on leave.

East Lyme Police Chief Michael Finkelstein, 53, was charged with second-degree disturbing the peace and breach of the peace.

Local police responded to Finkelstein’s East Lyme home at 3:16 p.m. Tuesday to investigate a report of a domestic dispute.

There they met a family member of Finkelstein, who told police that he had attacked her the night before.

She told them she didn’t call 911 immediately because Finkelstein told her police wouldn’t believe her and he would take steps to make sure she wasn’t credible, the warrant says.

In her description of the previous evening’s incident, she said the two got into an argument after Finkelstein had consumed several alcoholic beverages during the course of the evening – at least three or four glasses of wine and some liquor – and she grabbed his work cellphone and began searching through it, the warrant states.

She told police she believed Finkelstein was trying to call a co-worker with whom he allegedly had an affair some time ago.

When Finkelstein tried to take his phone back, an argument broke out, she says.

At first, Finkelstein was angry and “hit her in the face,” then she heard a loud cracking sound from her nose. Then he put his hands around her neck and violently threw his cell phone at her chest, she said.

During another interview later that day, she told police that after a brief struggle, she told Finkelstein she would call 911 because she was scared and wanted him to stop, the warrant said.

As they wrestled, Finkelstein accidentally hit the child and her nose with his phone, and she was fairly certain her nose was broken, the warrant states.

According to the arrest warrant, Finkelstein began to suffer from fits of rage during arguments, freak out after drinking and was no longer able to control herself, she told investigators.

She said there had been physical altercations in the past, but she never reported them because Finkelstein told her the police would not believe her.

She further told police that she decided to call 911 because she wanted to help Finkelstein and thought one of his “coworkers” would talk to him and maybe convince him to get therapy for his temper tantrums. But the cops weren’t much help and Finkelstein just went to work.

When police spoke to Finkelstein, he said she took his phone and snatched it away from him when he tried to take it back from her, causing it to hit her in the face, the warrant states.

He told investigators that she had threatened to “get him in trouble” and had deliberately not washed herself so that her face would be covered in blood when the police arrived.

Because of Finkelstein’s role with the East Lyme Police Department, the investigation was turned over to the Connecticut State Police.

When questioned further by police, Finkelstein said he was confused as to why the victim was so upset and said he tried to calm her down. He said she had trust issues and she hit herself with the phone when he let it go.

Then, at some point during the argument, he grabbed both cell phones and threw them into the woods, according to the arrest warrant.

The arrest warrant further states that Finkelstein’s explanation of the victim’s nose injury makes no sense.

Finkelstein served as East Lyme’s police chief and the police commission will decide on next steps, the First Selectman said.