HILO — A 29-year-old Hawaii Police Department officer faces three charges after what police described in a statement as “an early morning off-duty domestic argument” Monday that resulted in injuries to a family member.
Police identified the officer as Daniel R. Ulrich. The department’s booking log lists his hometown as Pahoa.
According to police, the incident was reported by a 36-year-old woman family member who was treated Monday morning at Hilo Medical Center for injuries including bruising to the throat area.
She was later released from the hospital, police said.
Ulrich was arrested at his home Monday and charged Tuesday afternoon with one count each of aggravated domestic abuse by strangulation and second-degree assault — both Class C felonies that carry a potential five-year prison sentence upon conviction — and a single count of misdemeanor domestic abuse.
His bail was set at $5,000.
Ulrich was hired as a police recruit on Feb. 16, 2018, and was assigned to a solo patrol assignment in the Puna district on Jan. 1, 2019. He is still within the initial 18-month new hire probationary period and has been placed on leave without pay pending the completion of an administrative investigation.
Anyone with information about the incident is asked to call the police nonemergency line at 935-3311 or contact Detective Levon Stevens at 961-8839 or via email at levon.stevens@hawaiicounty.gov.
Those who prefer anonymity can call Crime Stoppers at 961-8300.