A Colorado police officer who was caught on tape allegedly beating his teenage daughter was arrested and charged with child abuse after the video originally came to to the attention of authorities.
Berthoud Police Officer Jeremy Yachik, 35, has been charged with four counts of child abuse and one count of false imprisonment, according to a report by The Denver Post.
In a press release the Loveland Police Department says they received an email on Sept. 24 alleging that Yachik abused a juvenile months ago within Loveland city limits and conducted an investigation. During that investigation both Yachik and Berthoud Police Chief Glenn Johnson were put on leave and were put under a criminal investigation by Loveland Police and the Larimer County District Attorney.
The tape, obtained by KDVR, shows a darkened figure of a man standing over teen who is on the floor crying. The man can be heard asking the girl, "You had what?" She replies "carrots," and the man appears to hit the girl before saying "exactly," and kicking her.
Head over to KDVR to see the video (WARNING: the abuse depicted on the video may be disturbing for some to watch).
According to an arrest affidavit obtained by 9News, Yachik's daughter -- who turned 15 on Oct. 20th -- detailed years of physical abuse by her father that included being choked to the point of blacking out, being force-fed ghost pepper sauce whenever Yachik accused her of lying, restraining her hands with handcuffs or plastic zip ties, slamming her head so hard into a wall that it left a hole and more.
Loveland Police said that Yachik, who is 5-feet-11-inches tall and weighs 270 pounds, even admitted to all of his daughter's abuse allegations and admitted that he was the one seen in the video, in the affidavit.
The video was sent by Yachik's ex-fiance, who alleged that she and the teen had endured years of physical abuse at the hands of Yachik. In the affidavit, Yachik's ex told the Loveland Police that she originally sent the video to Berthoud Police Chief Johnson but never received a response. In the affidavit she alleges that Yachik later told her, "Nice try... trying to get me fired... it's not going to work."
After not receiving a response from Johnson, she sent the video to a few news and police agencies, and then told Larimer County's Child Protection Services.
During a town hall meeting last week, citizens were told that town officials received an email accusing a Berthoud police officer of domestic abuse and that Loveland police were investigating the officer in question. They were also told that the Larimer County Sheriff's Office had also supplied an interim police chief while the investigation was ongoing.
Yachik and his ex are embroiled in legal battles and in March of 2013, she was also arrested on a domestic violence incident but is free on $5,000 bond. She pleaded not guilty and is scheduled for a trial on Dec. 16.
Yachik was also reportedly accused of domestic abuse when he worked briefly with the Trinidad Police Department but resigned during the investigation, according to a report by the Loveland Reporter-Herald.
Yachik was arrested without incident on Wednesday. He posted $1,500 bond and was released.
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