OSCEOLA COUNTY, Fla. – An Osceola County deputy who was accused of hitting his girlfriend Sunday argued with the woman about divorcing his wife before the fight became physical, according to the Osceola County Sheriff's Office.
Michael Keating, a 14-year Osceola deputy, was arrested around 3:15 a.m. Sunday on a battery charge following the incident in St. Cloud, deputies said.
Keating's girlfriend of two years told deputies that the pair went out drinking at Cozy Cove Bar and Grill and SkyBox Sports Bar on Saturday night, and when the two returned to the home they've been sharing for the past two months, they started to argue.
Keating told deputies the argument started because his girlfriend was mad that he wouldn't divorce his wife, the arrest report said.
The victim said Keating punched her in the face, according to authorities. A deputy said the woman's nose, eye and lip were swollen.
A man who was working nearby and called 911 to report the incident said the woman was screaming for help.
“It’s a domestic dispute. This lady, she’s yelling, 'Help,' and I hear all this banging in the house and she runs outside and she goes back in,” the man told the 911 operator.
He said his co-workers also saw the woman in distress.
“Earlier, she came over to them and her face was all busted up," the man said.
He said he heard banging and the woman was screaming for someone to call 911.
Osceola Sheriff Russ Gibson said Keating was put on administrative leave without pay after his arrest Sunday morning.
The victim in Sunday's incident also accused Keating of being violent in the past, Gibson said. A charge was filed against Keating in Brevard County in 2016, but the victim did not want to cooperate with the investigation.
The Sheriff’s Office disciplined Keating in March for that Brevard County incident, according to a notice of disciplinary action obtained by News 6.
The victim went to a Brevard County hospital July 30, 2016, with bruises, scratches and contusions on her face, arms and chest, the report said.
She said Keating “got mad, grabbed her by the throat, grabbed and twisted her hand, punched her in the head and threatened to kill her if he lost his job,” according to the report.
The victim said she was afraid to report the incident, because Keating threatened to kill her. She later told deputies that Keating “made a mistake and the incident was her fault,” deputies said.
In December, Keating’s girlfriend used a golf club to damage his motorcycle. Deputies issued a trespass warning to the woman, records show.
The Brevard County Sheriff’s Office notified Keating’s employer saying that "this relationship appears to be volatile leading to this agency becoming involved on several occasions," the disciplinary report said.
Following Keating's arrest Sunday, the victim told deputies that she would not testify in court and would not fill out a written statement, the report said.
Keating accused the woman of lying about being punched in the face, according to authorities. He said she attacked him and he pushed her in self-defense.
Officials with the Sheriff's Office said they plan to conduct an internal investigation into Sunday's incident, just as they did following the allegation in 2016.