A former Pierce County sheriff's sergeant who pleaded guilty and received no new jail time last month in an assault case from 2018 was arrested Monday on suspicion of domestic violence, a Sheriff's Department spokesperson said.
Robert Glen Carpenter, 52, was taken into custody after his girlfriend called authorities at 5:19 a.m. to report "a domestic violence incident at their home" in the 8300 block of 191st Street East in Puyallup, sheriff's spokesperson Sgt. Darren Moss said in an email.
Deputies contacted Carpenter's girlfriend and established probable cause to arrest Carpenter for second-degree assault, unlawful imprisonment, felony harassment/threats and for interfering with the reporting of a domestic violence incident, Moss said.
Carpenter, who had left his residence, was later taken into custody at his home at 10:41 a.m., according to Moss.
"Because of his recent negative encounters with law enforcement from his previous arrest and his fighting skills and expertise, we had (the department's SWAT team) serve a warrant to arrest him," Moss wrote. "He surrendered peacefully and was booked into the Pierce County Jail."
Jail records show Carpenter was booked shortly after noon on suspicion of the charges noted by Moss, as well as fourth-degree assault. His attorney, Bryan Hershman, said Carpenter had not posted bail as of 5:30 p.m.
"It's terribly disappointing, and, I think, obviously, there are issues that need to be dealt with inside of him and so that's what we're going to focus on," Hershman told The News Tribune, noting that Carpenter was in need of professional help.
He said that Carpenter's arraignment was scheduled for Tuesday afternoon.
On Oct. 27, Carpenter was sentenced to no new jail time — receiving credit for 24 days previously served in jail — after pleading guilty to felony harassment in a case that stemmed from a stabbing four years ago.
Carpenter was fired not long after he was charged in December 2018 with first-degree assault for stabbing a man in both hands while off duty two months earlier. The men had met at an Eastside Tacoma bar. The incident ended Carpenter's 25-year career in the department, including a lengthy stint as the department's top defensive-tactics instructor.
Carpenter and his defense attorney maintained he was acting in self-defense as a victim of a robbery and claimed that the victim had taken Carpenter's firearm and pointed it at his head.
The allegation was central to two lawsuits filed by Carpenter against the county and the city of Tacoma that were moved to federal court in January. Carpenter accused the county and the city of conducting a skewed investigation into the assault case and said that his senior officer status and struggles with alcohol dependency had been factors in his termination.
Carpenter dismissed those cases shortly after he was sentenced last month. Hershman said afterward that his client was ready to "move on with his life."
