A Warsaw police officer is free on bail after Fort Wayne police arrested him early Friday on a charge he hit his wife.
Warsaw Police Chief Perry Hunter said he fired Joseph Klaehn, 31, of the 1600 block of Echo Lane in Fort Wayne, after learning of the arrest.
Klaehn’s wife told police early Friday that he slapped her across the face at least twice after an argument. A friend of Klaehn’s wife called officers and urged her to file a police report. The couple’s two small children were asleep at the home during the assault, police said.
When officers went to Klaehn’s home and arrested him, he denied hitting his wife, a police report said.
Klaehn joined the Warsaw Police Department in March and was scheduled to go to the police academy in January. He was still a probationary officer, so the department can fire him immediately instead of waiting for public safety board proceedings, Perry said.
Klaehn was formerly an Allen County confinement officer. He was booked into the Allen County Lockup about 3 a.m. on a single count of domestic battery. He was released on $2,500 bond.
