An Albuquerque Police officer was arrested on domestic violence charges stemming from an argument he had with his girlfriend.
On Feb. 4, Rio Rancho Police responded to a call about a domestic dispute at a house on the 500 block of Archibeque Ave in Rio Rancho. The caller said her boyfriend, 24 year-old Isaiah Ortiz y Pino, had become physical with her and he was an APD officer.
According to the criminal complaint, while officers were en route to the house, Ortiz y Pino himself called the county’s non-emergency line and requested a” domestic escort,” which is traditionally used when one party wants to request an officer to stand by while they retrieve their belongings, but he eventually disconnected from dispatch.
When officers arrived at the residence, Ortiz y Pino’s girlfriend and her 11 year-old daughter were both crying and upset. The girlfriend told officers she and Ortiz y Pino had been arguing in the kitchen when he threw foam from his beer at the kitchen wall. She said the argument moved to the bedroom and escalated until Ortiz y Pino grabbed her hair and the back of her neck and threw her on the bed. Ortiz y Pino then left the house with his 5 year-old daughter.
Ortiz y Pino’s girlfriend said he had been physical with her in the past, and it had escalated. She said he told her not to call the police, because she would get in trouble since he was an Albuquerque Police officer.
An emergency order of protection was issued for the victim and a warrant was issued for Ortiz y Pino’s arrest. He was booked into the Metropolitan Detention Center on Feb. 5 on misdemeanor charges of battery on a household member, where he is still in custody. He is scheduled to be transferred to the Sandoval County Detention Center on Feb. 9 for a court hearing. It’s unclear who his attorney is.
APD spokesperson Gilbert Gallegos said Ortiz y Pino was on administrative leave pending an internal affairs investigation.
Ortiz y Pino has been with APD since July 2023.