Police: Trooper charged with domestic violence arrested again for twice violating no-contact order

A state trooper who was arrested last summer after police said he put his wife in a headlock and threatened her with a gun has again been arrested, this time for repeatedly contacting a victim, police said Monday.

Gregory Smith, 43, turned himself on Friday on two new charges of violation of a protective order, Southington police said. He was released on a promise to appear in Superior Court in New Britain Monday.

In the first incident, he went to the victim’s apartment complex to talk to her on Dec. 24, despite a protective order banning contact, police said.

In the second, he sent the victim a text message, which also violated the no-contact order, police said. They did not say if the domestic violence victim is the same woman he was accused of injuring last year.

In that case, Smith was charged with first-degree reckless endangerment, third-degree assault and first-degree threatening, state police said. That case is being heard in Superior Court in Middletown; he is next scheduled to appear Wednesday.

According to the warrant for Smith’s first arrest, the woman told state police that the two had an argument on July 7 during which Smith grabbed her from behind in a “headlock type maneuver” while yelling at her about money.

The woman, who recorded most of the incident on her cellphone, went to the hospital the next day because she was still having trouble breathing, the warrant said.

She also told police that Smith had been continually verbally and physically assaulting her. Smith had yelled at her, injured her and threatened her with a gun on multiple occasions, it said.

The woman also told police that Smith held a gun to his head and threatened to shoot himself more than once. He would hold a gun to her, too, the warrant said.

He also threw her phone into the woods, pulled out clumps of her hair and threw her into walls, it said.

Smith has been on “administrative suspension” since the July 12 arrest, which means his police powers have been taken away, the state police said Friday.

After the second arrest on Friday, he was placed on a leave of absence, they said.

He has been a state trooper since 2000.

Christine Dempsey can be reached at cdempsey@courant.com.

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