Bradford Police Chief Arrested
Chief Micheal P. Close. Photo found at cityofbradfordpolice.com
Bradford PA Police Chief Charged After Domestic Dispute
According to a criminal docket sheet, filed at Magisterial District Court in Bradford PA, Police Chief Micheal Close was charged by Pennsylvania State Police.
Acting on an anonymous tip, BradfordPA.Info found the criminal docket sheet relating to the arrest.
Chief Close is being charged with simple assault, and a summary charge of harassment.
According to the docket sheet, Close was arraigned in front of District Magistrate Dominic Cercone at 2:00 pm today, and was released on $5,000 unsecured bail. Unsecured bail means that he was released, but if he does not show up for the preliminary hearing, he must pay the $5,000.
The preliminary hearing is scheduled for 3/24/2010 at 9:00 am.
**UPDATE**
According to a public information release by Pennsylvania State Police, Close was charged after a domestic dispute between him and his significant other, at a Northgate Drive address.
The assault occurred when Micheal Close, 50, and Amy Baker, 36, both of Bradford PA, became involved in an argument.
During the argument, Close struck the victim in the face, causing minor injuries to the victim’s lower lip. Close and Baker continued to argue, and Close pushed Baker to the ground, causing her head to strike the ground.
Close then got into his vehicle and fled to an unknown location.
At 2:00 pm, Close turned himself in at District Judge Luther’s office in Foster Township, where he was arraigned on charges of Simple Assault and Harassment.
Well! If This Info Is Correct, What Kind Of A Message Does This Arrest Of Police Chief Michael Close Send To The Citizens Of The City Of Bradford? Maybe A Neighborhood Town Watch Is More Needed Than We Suspected…
P.S. The YWCA Victim’s Resource Center Should Be Outraged!
Is anyone surprised?
DT DAVE- DON’T YOU THINK THAT THERE IS TWO SIDE OF EVERY STORY?
EVERYBODY HAS ARGUMENTS WITH THIER SIGNIFICANT OTHERS!
OH, LET NOT FORGET YOUR THE ONLY ONE THAT HAS BEEN BANNED FROM THE PUBLIC LIBRARY. TELLS US WHY DAVE!!!!!!
But not everyone feels impelled to hit their S.O., Snicker. Regardless of the two sides to every story, Close hitting that girl is not acceptable.
SUZE-I’LL AGREE, I WAS RAISED NEVER TO STRIKE A WOMAN, BUT NOT EVERYONE WAS RAISED THAT WAY.
WHO ARE WE TO JUDGE A RELATIONSHIP THAT WE KNOW NOTHING ABOUT?
JUST BECAUSE HE IS A CHIEF OF POLICE, HE IS STILL A HUMAN, LIKE EVERY OTHER PERSON IN THIS WORLD. WE DON’T NOW THE FACTS, SO HOW CAN WE JUDGE SOMEONE ON FACTS WE KNOW NOTHING ABOUT EXCEPT WHAT WE READ ON THE WEB. GET A LIFE.
I kind of feel like I should say that the facts are already in black and white. My information came from a police report, along with a docket sheet. There isn’t too much left to the story.
Get a life???? Obviously someone riding the Tom Riel bandwagon should get a life…..would our heroic mayor be defending the Police Chief on assault charges if it was anyone other than the man he appointed within 24 hours of being sworn in???
Pretty pathetic that we’ve resorted to actually defending abusers!!! What’s next???
You are correct…there are two sides to every story and every relationship….bottom line…there is NOTHING a woman could do that deserves her to get hit!!!!
[...] a BREAKING NEWS STORY Sunday afternoon at BradfordPA.Info, Michael P. Close was identified as Chief of the Bradford City [...]
I agree with you that “he’s just a human.” And, you’re right we don’t know the facts. However, I’m sure you’ll agree something happened between the two. REGARDLESS of how it happened, he is the CHIEF OF POLICE! He is held to a higher standard whether he likes it or not. He is EXPECTED to live as a law abiding citizen just as much as he enforces it. Even moreso. He is supposed to be a role model in the community, not end up in the paper for smacking his girlfriend around.
Snicker, you need to Grow Up! No One Has Been Banned.
in response to jennifer… getting smacked in the head with a candle holder and blocking would be a good excuse… have you seen the man? had he intentionally hit her, her face would have been pressed solidly against the back of her skull!
if a man is going to hit a woman then he deserves to go to jail the chief of police should know better than that but hey everyone is entitled to thier own opinion
Being the public figure he was he had no right to lay a hand on her or any other female. Seriously, domestic violence is a big problem and shouldn’t be over-looked by any means. The attention Mike received from this was because he was the Police Chief. If he worked at Dressers or Tops, sadly to say this would have been just another case of domestic violence and it wouldn’t have been a big deal just like all the other daily reports we hear about. The man screwed up for sure don’t get me wrong, but i also believe while he wore his uniform he had the best intentions for the city. People in this town need to realize our Chief’s personal life shouldn’t be the most talked about topic in the city. The community needs to put what happened in the past behind us and focus on the towns real big problem, the pills. More than half this community walks around this area like zombies. This is not just a problem with our youth but older adults as well. I say people start talking about the real news of this town and how prescription drugs are ruining the community, but let’s wait until it’s a bigger problem and starts leading to homicide and theft. Mike’s problems should be Mike’s problems…Let him lay in the bed he made. Bradford has bigger things to worry about other than his personal life. I say we drop all this old news and try to get these prescription drugs under control before they ruin the youth of Bradford and what’s left of our town…Dan Close should have been Chief years before his passing….R.I.P.