A police officer drives in Philadelphia, Tuesday, March 24, 2020. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
This story originally appeared on NBC10.
A Philadelphia police detective has been suspended with the intent of being fired after being charged with simple assault for an off-duty incident involving a gun.
The Philadelphia Police Department’s Internal Affairs Division arrested Detective Robert Redanauer on Tuesday for a Dec. 27, 2020 assault, police said Thursday.
Police said that Redanauer grabbed a handgun from a dresser during an argument and pointed it at two people, threatening to shoot one of them. One person was able to go downstairs, leave the home and call 911, while the other fled into a bedroom, investigators said.
Redanauer eventually left the home — police didn’t reveal the location — and drove off.
The case was sent to the Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office for consideration in January and an arrest warrant was issued earlier this month on simple assault, terroristic threats, reckless endangerment and possessing an instrument of crime charges.
“In order for police officers to effectively do their jobs, it is imperative that they are held to a higher standard – both on and off-duty” Police Commissioner Danielle Outlaw said in a news release announcing the arrest. “The charges filed against Detective Redanauer are serious in nature, and represent intolerable behavior.”
Outlaw suspended Redanauer and plans to fire him after 30 days.
Redanauer was arraigned Tuesday and released on recognizance, according to court records.
Court records don’t list an attorney who could comment on Redanauer’s behalf. A spokesman said that Philadelphia’s Fraternal Order of Police Lodge No. 5 had no comment on the case.