LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — A Las Vegas Metro police officer accused of child abuse and domestic violence allegedly “destroyed” a house and pointed a gun at his children, according to an arrest report.
On Oct. 11, detectives became aware of a child abuse and domestic violence incident during an unrelated investigation. The incident occurred in March, according to the report.
In an interview with police, a victim said her ex, identified as Joseph Ortega, “destroyed the house” on March 26 and later sent her a message saying she “should not leave the children alone with him anymore,” the report stated.
Ortega is an LVMPD officer assigned to the West Community Policing Division, Northwest Area Command.
The victim told police she and Ortega were in a relationship for around eight years before they separated after Ortega had an affair in January. The two share two children, and Ortega was going “back and forth” between his girlfriend’s house and the victim’s house, according to the report.
On March 26, Ortega was with the kids when he texted the victim to come home because “he could not be with the kids anymore,” the report stated. When she got home, the two began to argue.
One of the children told police that before she arrived, Ortega went to the backyard and “tore the BBQ grill apart with his bare hands,” according to the report.
During the argument, Ortega “broke several items in the house,” including the banister of the stairs. Ortega then went into the garage and “threw multiple things around” and kicked his truck. The victim told police she then locked Ortega out of the house.
Video footage from the doorbell camera showed Ortega knocking on the front door and ringing the doorbell while holding a gun, documents said.
The child told police he saw Ortega bang on the kitchen window with the gun. He said Ortega pointed the gun “directly” at him and his sibling through the window and thought Ortega was going to kill them, according to the report.
He told police he threw a blanket over himself and his sibling to “hide from [Ortega].”
Ortega later entered the home from the back door, leaving the firearm in the backyard near a trampoline. The victim’s children, as well as her roommates’ children, told her they found the gun but did not touch it, the report stated.
In a video taken from the victim’s phone, Ortega can be heard saying “Sorry, I won’t be your problem anymore,” and saying the victim “destroyed his life” and was “manipulating him.” He told the victim he “despised her, but still wanted to be with her,” before saying he was going to kill himself, the report stated.
The victim told police Ortega “only used normal discipline” for the kids, saying he would “flick [them] on the head” or spank them. On May 28, she was out running errands and left the kids with Ortega, who recently moved back in, according to the report.
Ortega sent the victim a text saying he “could not be left alone with the kids anymore” after he slapped one of the children “entirely too hard” for “urinating on himself,” documents said. When the victim returned home, she saw a red mark on the child’s face.
Ortega was arrested on Nov. 16. He was charged with two counts of child abuse/neglect and two counts of assault domestic violence with the use of a deadly weapon, according to police. His next court appearance is scheduled for Dec. 21.
He was placed on suspension of police powers without pay, according to a Metro spokesperson.