CT police chief on leave following domestic violence arrest faces additional charges

The chief of the East Lyme Police Department who was placed on leave earlier this month following a domestic violence arrest was charged Monday in connection with a domestic incident involving the same victim in 2023 and accused of violating a protective order that barred him from having guns or ammunition.

Michael Finkelstein, 53, was served two arrest warrants during an appearance in Middletown Superior Court on Monday, according to the Connecticut State Police. He now faces additional charges of disorderly conduct, violation of a protective order and providing a false statement.

Following his initial arrest on June 5 on charges of disorderly conduct and second-degree breach of peace, the East Lyme Police Department said in a statement that Finkelstein had been “placed on paid administrative leave pending the outcome of an investigation into his arrest for a family-related matter.”

CT police chief on administrative leave after domestic violence arrest

The arrest earlier this month came after a woman who resides with Finkelstein called 911 shortly after 5 a.m. and alleged he had struck her in the face during an incident in their home the previous night.

The woman initially spoke to East Lyme police officers who responded to the home, before state police took over the investigation to avoid a potential conflict of interest, according to the arrest warrant affidavit.

The woman alleged that Finkelstein had been drinking throughout the night before the two struggled over his department-issued cell phone when she tried to go through it, the warrant affidavit said. During the struggle, she alleged that Finkelstein struck her face and she described what investigators said appeared to resemble an “upward palm heel strike,” the warrant affidavit said.

The woman said she heard a crack in her nose, which she believed was broken. After striking her face, she alleged that Finkelstein put his hands around her throat before throwing the phone at her chest, which she said left a bruise, the warrant affidavit said.

Though Finkelstein denied the allegations, state police drafted a warrant for his arrest. He was later issued a protective order that, among other things, barred him from going to the home or having guns and ammunition.

According to the warrant affidavit in the most recent arrest, state police said Finkelstein agreed to surrender his police-issued firearm and signed a Firearm and Ammunition Compliance Statement attesting that he was no longer in possession of any guns or ammo.

At the time, state police reportedly found that he had a Glock 26 and a Sig Sauer 230 registered to him. Finkelstein allegedly told state police “I don’t remember” when asked what had happened to these guns and insisted that he had transferred them to someone else and was no longer in possession of them, the warrant affidavit said.

State police later found through the Special Licensing and Firearms Unit that Finkelstein allegedly had not completed any paperwork that would indicate he had transferred the guns out of his possession, the warrant affidavit said. He agreed to meet with a state police detective on June 12 and discuss where the firearms could be.

According to the warrant affidavit, Finkelstein allegedly told state police he believed he gave his Sig Sauer to a former police officer when the two were at a shooting range together years prior. Investigators were able to confirm with the man that he had taken possession of the gun over a decade ago.

Finkelstein also told state police that he had remembered his Glock was in a red bag that he had recently moved into the garage of his East Lyme home, the warrant affidavit said. He said he initially told authorities he did not have it because he “could not think straight” given the situation, the warrant affidavit said.

State police went to the home and used a garage code Finkelstein provided them and reportedly found the gun locked in a gun case inside the bag he had described. Police noted that the bag was accessible to “anyone who entered the garage” and that there were children’s toys and bicycles in the immediate area. Inside the bag, state police also reportedly found a police duty belt with two magazines containing a total of 34 bullets, the warrant affidavit said.

The other charges filed against Finkelstein on Monday stem from an alleged domestic violence incident on June 18, 2023. Days after Finkelstein’s arrest earlier this month, state police said they were requested by an official with the New London Superior Court to “re-investigate” last year’s incident after it was discovered during a review of body camera footage tied to incidents involving the police chief.

State police retrieved a 911 call the day of the incident in which the woman who resides with Finkelstein said one of her children’s fingers was lacerated and alleged that there had been a lot of fighting in their household, which reportedly was home to three children, ages 6, 3 and 1, the warrant affidavit said.

A body-worn camera from an officer who responded to the home shortly after 8 p.m. reportedly showed that the woman told authorities that he allegedly grabbed her chin during an argument, according to the warrant affidavit. She claimed that the two regularly argued about women he reportedly would exchange text messages with and alleged that he had been drinking before the fight.

The woman claimed that the fight started when she found out Finkelstein had been texting a female co-worker and that, in addition to grabbing her, he also allegedly took a remote and “stuck it against” the side of her nose “really hard,” the warrant affidavit said. She said the children were present when this happened. She also alleged that Finkelstein had gotten into their vehicle to prevent her from taking the children and leaving, the warrant affidavit said.

According to the warrant affidavit, the woman began telling police that Finkelstein allegedly had “altercations” with someone else in the home, but he cut her off before she could go into detail. She then began to talk about an incident that had allegedly happened a few nights earlier, but Finkelstein again cut her off and started talking about several things upstairs he alleged she had broken, the warrant affidavit said.

According to the warrant affidavit, Finkelstein later dismissed her allegations, telling the investigating officer that she allegedly had a mental illness, the warrant affidavit said. He agreed to leave the home for the night.

The woman was told by the officer that if she wanted to make a complaint she would need to contact state police, as an East Lyme officer would have a conflict of interest, the warrant affidavit said.

When state police earlier this month spoke to Finkelstein about the 2023 incident, he insisted there was no violence and said the woman only called 911 because one of the children’s fingers was injured while being buckled into a car seat, the warrant affidavit said. When asked if he intentionally got into the car to prevent the woman from leaving, state police said Finkelstein allegedly abruptly cut off the interview, the warrant affidavit said.

State police also interviewed the woman earlier this month about the incident last year, though she now claimed that there was no violence involved, the warrant affidavit said. When confronted with video footage that showed she made accusations of violence, she allegedly said she was “just emotional” and could not remember what had happened a year ago, according to the warrant affidavit.

Finkelstein’s attorney could not immediately be reached for comment Monday.