Clymer Borough police chief charged, suspended following alleged strangulation incident
Clymer Borough Police Chief Charles Waller Jr. has been suspended without pay after he was charged with a felony stemming from a domestic violence incident, according to state police.
Waller Jr. allegedly strangled and assaulted a woman inside a home in Pine Township, Indiana County, on Wednesday morning. He was arrested and transported to the Indiana County jail for processing.
"I would have never expected this," Mayor of Clymer Borough, Christina King, said.
When Mayor King got the call about her chief of police, she told KDKA-TV she was in shock. She asked the person who called her to repeat themselves because she said she was in such disbelief.
"I didn't ever see any flags from him," King said. "It took me a year to talk him into coming here. He had been recommended by our past chief, and then, when that chief left, Charles was promoted."
State police in Indiana County responded to a home in the 200 block of Second Avenue in Pine Township following a 911 hangup call. The unidentified female victim told troopers she and Waller got into a verbal argument when he allegedly shoved her to the ground and strangled her with his hands.
"There [are] a few charges, and one of them is a felony. Per state law, he had to be immediately suspended, and that's where we stand at this point," King said.
Mayor King said her main focus is now making sure her community, and neighboring Marion Center Borough, with which they also cover, is protected.
With only one full-time officer now, and several part-time officers, she said they've had to adjust schedules, but assures it's still status quo.
"This has never been a 24-hour department, so if you call 911 and there's not an officer on duty, Pennsylvania State Police is coming. That's always even the policy, and that's what's going to happen now," King said.
Waller posted bail and is due in court for a preliminary hearing on July 1.
