Officer Daniel Venegas Charged With Beating His Wife

Merrillville police officer Daniel Venegas, who served two tours of duty in Iraq, is on administrative leave without pay after being charged with battering his wife.

The 25-year-old was expected to be released Monday afternoon from the Porter County Jail where he has been held since the Wednesday incident at his Portage home.

Venegas is charged with a felony count of strangulation and misdemeanor domestic battery with injury, according to police.

Anyone convicted of domestic battery is prohibited by federal law from having a firearm -- so a battery conviction for Venegas could spell the end of his career in law enforcement.

The incident involved an argument over finances and his wife's use of Internet, said Portage police spokesman Sgt. Keith Hughes.

Police removed five weapons from the home and turned three over to the Merrillville police department, according to a report.

The Merrillville police department is conducting an internal investigation, according to Chief Joseph Petruch.

Venegas has been with the department since Feb. 27, 2007 and currently serves as a patrolman, Petruch said.

He has been on disability for several weeks as a result of a motorcycle injury, said defense attorney Larry Rogers.

Venegas was to be placed on pretrial supervision, which requires he receive counseling from the Veteran's Administration for post traumatic stress disorder and report to a probation officer, Rogers said.

Rogers believes PTSD is behind his client's actions. Venegas was wounded twice while in Iraq, Rogers said.

PTSD is brought on when an individual experiences a severe threat and then suffers a repeated fear as a result, said Sandy Carlson, vice president of clinical services at Porter-Starke Services.

The disorder can cause reoccurring bad dreams, loss of sleep and flashbacks of the initial threat, she said. It can also result in hyper vigilance, irritability and angry outbursts.

The goal of therapy is to desensitize the person to the trauma and the sooner the better, she said.

"To wait it out and hope it goes away is a huge mistake," Carlson said.