Davie Cop Arrested After Physical Dispute With Teenage Daughters

December 25, 2012December 25, 2012 CopBlock 826 Views battery, child abuse, Connie Kaplan, Davie Police Department, Hallandale Beach Police Department, Judge John Hurley, Sgt. Christopher Chastain, Timothy Donohue

The following article was originally posted at www.Sun-sentinel.com on December 14, 2012.

A veteran Davie police officer was arrested by his own department after he allegedly struck his two teenage daughters during a fight over a Bible that he apparently tossed on the floor.

Officer Timothy Donohue, 46, appeared in bond court Thursday morning and is facing two counts of child abuse and two counts of battery. Court officials identified the two 17-year-old girls as the officer’s daughters.

Donahue posted $5,000 bond Thursday afternoon.

According to an arrest report, the teens arrived at a Davie home about 3:15 p.m. Wednesday and placed their backpacks, some papers and a Bible on a counter near the kitchen. The two girls were watching television when they heard a loud noise.

One of the teenagers then noticed that Donohue had thrown the backpacks and the Bible on the floor, according to the report. Donohue then told one of the daughters to pick up the mess.

As she was picking the items up off the floor, one daughter told her father that “he was going to hell for throwing the Bible on the floor,” according to the report.

The arrest report quotes Donohue telling the daughter to “shut up or I am going to knock your teeth down your throat.”

When the girl told the father that he’s not allowed to touch her, Donohue allegedly struck her in the face with a “slightly-closed fist”, according to the report. The girl then pushed the father back, but he shoved back, causing her to fall on the floor.

The other daughter then tried to intervene but was pushed several times by the father, according to the report.

The two girls got away from the house and called police.

In bond court Thursday, Donohue’s attorney told Broward Judge John “Jay” Hurley the incident was only a verbal dispute.

“It was a fight with teenagers,” attorney Connie Kaplan said.

Hurley ordered him to get an alcohol evaluation.

State records show Donohue, currently a road patrol officer, joined the Davie Police Department in 1998. He previously spent four years as an officer with the Hallandale Beach Police Department.

Donohue has been placed on administrative leave pending the outcome of the investigation, said department spokesman Sgt. Christopher Chastain.