A former Cleveland police officer indicted for the alleged physical and sexual assault of his girlfriend is being sought by US Marshals after breaking his GPS ankle monitor.
Tommie Griffin III, 52, was arrested in January and charged with rape, felonious assault and kidnapping in connection with a domestic violence attack on his 42-year-old girlfriend at their Parma home.
According to police, Griffin pistol-whipped his girlfriend, fired two shots next to her and sexually assaulted her during the attack.
Wanted: US Marshals are searching for ex-Cleveland police officer Tommie Griffin III, 52 (pictured in mugshots, left and right). He is wanted on charges of rape, assault and kidnapping
Griffin was suspended without pay following his arrest and later quit the department.
Authorities later seized more than 60 guns from his home, including five assault rifles and an Israeli Uzi submachine gun.
An escape warrant was issued Saturday and US Marshals are now actively looking for Griffin.
On January 13, Griffin came over to his girlfriend’s house in Parma and found her in bed with another man, according to police reports cited by Cleveland.com.
Griffin summoned police, and his romantic rival told responding officers that the woman had invited him to spend the weekend with her. The man then left voluntarily.
Shortly after midnight the next day, Griffin allegedly attacked his girlfriend as she slept alone in her State Road home.
The 22-year police department veteran, dressed in his uniform, allegedly pistol-whipped the woman, punched her in the face and fired two shots into the mattress, just inches away from the victim’s head.
Griffin then forced the woman to take a shower, dragged her down to the basement and had her perform a sex act on him at gunpoint, according to court filings.
After Griffin took off from the scene of the crime, a relative of the victim’s called police and she was hospitalized suffering from severe facial injuries.
Parma police officers eventually tracked Griffin’s phone and arrested him at gunpoint a bar in North Royalton.
He was charged with rape, felonious assault and kidnapping, which carry a combined sentence of 28 years in prison. Following his arrest, Griffin’s girlfriend secured a temporary restraining order to protect herself and her 10-year-old daughter from the cop, reported the station Cleveland19.
Griffin, pictured in court earlier this year, was arrested in January for allegedly pistol-whipping his girlfriend, firing two rounds next to her head and forcing her to perform a sex act at gunpoint
Griffin posted bond and was placed under house arrest in March, around the same time he resigned from the Cleveland PD
The 52-year-old suspect was hired by the Cleveland Police Department in 1994 and was awarded a distinguished service medal in 2009.
The following year, he was arrested in Parma on an assault charge, but later pleaded guilty to a reduced count of criminal mischief.
According to a police report, Griffin had gone through an acrimonious divorce some time ago.
He resigned from the Cleveland Police Department in March 2017. Around the same time, Griffin posted bond and was placed under house arrest.
His lawyer had his bond amount reduced from $250,000 to 10 per cent of $200,000 after convincing a judge that his client was not a flight risk.
Griffin was scheduled to go to trial on October 30. The Marshals are asking anyone with information about Griffin’s whereabouts to call the Northern Ohio Violent Fugitive Task Force at 1-866-4WANTED.