MARINERS HARBOR — An off-duty correction officer was arrested after he choked his girlfriend and threw her into a table inside their Laguna Lane home, a law enforcement source said.
Benjamin McDonald, 51, had an argument with his 32-year-old girlfriend in their kitchen on May 17 at about 9:45 a.m., the source said.
McDonald then grabbed her by the throat her and threw her into the table, causing her to black out, prosecutors said. He later refused to let her out of their kitchen for more than 15 minutes, prosecutors said.
He was arrested and charged with strangulation, criminal obstruction of breathing or blood circulation and harassment at his May 20 arraignment, according to the Staten Island District Attorney's office. He was released without bail and is due back in court on July 7, according to online court records.
McDonald has worked at Rikers Island as a correction officer for 18 years, prosecutors said. A spokesman for the Department of Correction said he has been suspended since the arrest.
His lawyer did not respond to a request for comment.