A Bridgeport, Conn. police officer has been arrested and charged with stalking and harassment in connection to domestic violence incidents earlier this, the department said Wednesday.
Detectives began investigating 47-year-old Dani Soto in May when he was accused of stalking and harassing a local woman after she broke off their relationship in 2023.
He allegedly used his patrol car to pull the woman over more than 50 times in attempts to convince her to resume their relationship, repeatedly showed up to her work unannounced and sent her more than 150 emails.
Soto, who’d been with the Bridgeport Police since April 2017, was placed on administrative leave during the investigation, but an arrest warrant wasn’t signed until Monday.
He turned himself in Wednesday morning and was charged with five counts of stalking, four counts of unlawful restraint and 22 counts of harassment, reported the CT Post.
His bond was set at $75,000.
During his arraignment, Soto’s attorney said the situation was more complicated than it appeared, telling Superior Court Judge Maureen Dennis the complainant made the allegations after she was arrested for attacking Soto’s wife.
Soto was ordered to have no contact with his accuser and did not enter a plea during the arraignment.
