Friday, April 3, 1998 | 10:19 a.m.
A Metro Police corrections officer has been arrested for the second time on charges of domestic violence.
Scott Cagnina, an eight-year veteran corrections officer for the Clark County Detention Center which is run by Metro, was arrested Wednesday after his wife called 911, police said. The charge was his second offense, a jail spokesman said. Details of his earlier arrest were not available, although a jail spokesman said the misdemeanor conviction was not in Clark County.
Cagnina, 29, was one of eight Metro officers identified in 1996 with misdemeanor domestic violence convictions after a background search of officers was done as a result of a new federal law.
Although not armed on the job, Cagnina was previously allowed to carry a gun off the job, then-Sgt. Greg McCurdy said. The law makes it illegal for anyone with a domestic violence conviction to arm themselves, he said.
Officers were called to Cagnina's home at 5225 E. Charleston Blvd. on a domestic disturbance call, Sgt. William Minor said.
"Upon arrival they determined that there was mutual battery that had occurred and that the male half was the primary aggressor," Minor said. "He was placed under arrest and transported to CCDC."
Cagnina's wife was not arrested "due to mitigating circumstances," Minor said, adding that it could have been because there were small children in the home.
Cagnina was booked just after 6 p.m. into the jail where he works. He then posted a $5,000 bond and was released, a jail spokesman said.
Attorney General Frankie Sue Del Papa is advising state agencies to conduct criminal background checks on all employees authorized to carry guns to see if they have past domestic violence convictions.
If the employee does have a conviction, he should be immediately transferred to a job where a weapon is not required, Del Papa said.
A section of a congressional appropriations bill passed in 1996 prohibits anybody from carrying a firearm with a past domestic violence conviction, even if it is a misdemeanor offense. There is no exemption for police officers and the conviction, no matter how old, applies.
archive
