Wednesday, July 15, 2009

Officer Donald Greer Arrested on Weapons Charge

A veteran Stamford police officer was arrested Tuesday by the Chief State's Attorney's Office on weapons charges related to pending criminal charges from a domestic dispute.

Donald Greer, 46, of Stratford, was charged with one count of illegally transferring a pistol or revolver, a felony that carries a maximum prison term of five years, the Chief State's Attorney's Office said in a statement.

Greer was arrested by Stamford police in March on threatening and disorderly conduct charges stemming from a domestic dispute. He was a police officer at the Stamford Police Department for 24 years before being arrested in March.

The department suspended Greer, and he turned in his badge and gun. He was put on administrative leave pending the domestic dispute charges.

John Whalen, an assistant state's attorney who works in the Statewide Prosecution Bureau, said investigators learned about the alleged firearms violations while looking into the domestic dispute.

In February 2007, Greer allegedly transferred a pistol to an acquaintance for their protection, the Chief State's Attorney's Office said in a statement. A warrant says the transfer was illegal because Greer did not submit the proper written statement to the State Police Special Firearms and Licensing Unit before the transfer.

Whalen would not offer more details about the arrest or how it was related to the domestic dispute.

Greer was arrested Tuesday by an inspector from the Chief State's Attorney's Office at state Superior Court in Stamford. He was released on a promise to appear in court and will be arraigned July 28.

Prosecutors from the Statewide Prosecution Bureau at the Chief State's Attorney's Office will handle the case, the office said in a statement.

Stamford Police Lt. Sean Cooney, a department spokesman, said Greer will remain on paid leave pending the outcome of the criminal charges against him.

An internal police investigation will follow once the court case gets resolved, he said.

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