STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- An off-duty Port Authority Police Department officer found himself on the wrong side of the law after cops say he back-handed his Staten Island girlfriend, despite a judge's order limiting his dealings with her.
Police say Shawn Dossie, 31, of Parlin, N.J., was inside the St. George apartment of his 33-year-old girlfriend at 2:50 a.m. May 26 when he hit her with the back of his open hand, cutting her face.
A Richmond County Supreme Court justice had previously ordered Dossie in February "to refrain from assault, stalking, harassment, aggravated harassment, menacing, reckless endangerment, strangulation, intimidation threats or any criminal offense" against the woman, court papers allege.
Dossie faces charges of first- and second-degree criminal contempt, third-degree attempted assault and second-degree harassment, according to information from District Attorney Daniel Donovan's office.
He has been suspended without pay from the Port Authority Police Department, said an agency spokesman.
Dossie is a member of the U.S. Coast Guard Reserve, and the alleged incident is under review, said a Coast Guard spokesman.