Officer Gilbert Lorenzo Arrested for Domestic Violence

A 7-year veteran officer with the San Diego Police Department was arrested on domestic violence allegations Tuesday. Now, both SDPD and La Mesa police are investigating 31-year-old Gilbert Lorenzo, known as Anthony.

San Diego police officials have taken swift action against one of its officers who was arrested and booked into county jail Tuesday evening for a domestic violence, marking another in a long list of troubles currently plaguing the police department.

“I was very disappointed to hear this news, and I can tell you that our officers were very disappointed to learn this news,” said SDPD Police Chief Shelley Zimmerman at a press conference about the arrest on Wednesday.

According to SDPD officials, La Mesa police contacted their communications center at about 1:45 p.m. Tuesday and reported that an SDPD officer who lived in La Mesa may have been involved in a domestic violence incident.

SDPD said they quickly began investigating the incident alongside LMPD officials.

Both investigations later determined that 31-year-old SDPD officer Gilbert A. Lorenzo was in fact a suspect in a domestic violence incident, according to police.

SDPD said the incident involved domestic battery against the suspect’s wife. They said they were in contact with the woman and were working with her after the incident occurred. According to police, she did not require medical treatment.

Once police determined Lorenzo was the suspect, he was arrested and booked into county jail on $50,000 bail Tuesday evening, SDPD officials said. He later posted bail.

Lorenzo was working SDPD’s Northern Division and worked in the Mid-City Division in the past, according to police. He’s said to be a seven year veteran of the department.

Although Lorenzo has not yet been charged, due to his arrest, SDPD officials said his police powers were revoked and he was suspended without pay as the investigation continued.

At Wednesday's press conference, Zimmerman highlighted the swift action SDPD took against Lorenzo after investigating the incident.

“We are not going to tolerate misbehavior on the part of our officers," Zimmerman said.

Lorenzo’s arrest is yet another setback for SDPD which has dealt with a string of troubles in recent months, including allegations of misconduct against its officers.

On the same day as Lorenzo’s arrest, a now former SDPD officer Christopher Hays was held over for trial on sexual misconduct charges.

Zimmerman made clear her determination to combat officer misconduct.

“Our officers, civilians and volunteers serve everyday with honor, distinction, professionalism and to the… very few again, this incident right here and those others that have acted as individuals and made the terrible decision to discredit our badge and to dishonor our noble profession, we are not going to tolerate it, and as you can see this happened very quickly,” Zimmerman said referring to the officer's suspension.