A Boulder police officer was arrested Monday afternoon after, police say, he threatened to break a woman’s jaw during an argument, and then looked up the call that reported him in a police database.
Matthew Herkalo, 24, faces charges of domestic violence, harassment and official misconduct, according to an arrest affidavit.
About 1:42 p.m. Monday, two neighbors called Erie police to report they heard a loud argument between a man and a woman in a nearby home, according to the affidavit. One neighbor heard the woman yelling for Herkalo to “get his hands off her,” and another neighbor reported hearing the woman yell, “what are you going to do? Break my jaw?” Both neighbors reported hearing the woman crying loudly and telling Herkalo to “stop” and “go away.”
When Erie police officers arrived, the woman appeared upset and nervous, according to the affidavit. She told police nothing physical had happened, and said she was worried that Herkalo would lose his job. She later confirmed that Herkalo had threatened to break her jaw, according to the affidavit.
While Erie police were speaking with the woman, Herkalo texted the woman that he “just looked up the call,” and said he knew two people had reported hearing the argument, according to the affidavit. Herkalo also asked the woman whether officers were talking to her about threats, the affidavit says.
Herkalo told police the argument was only verbal, then ended the call when an Erie officer began to ask follow-up questions, according to the affidavit.
Herkalo, who has been an officer with the Boulder Police Department since July 2024, was off-duty when the reported incident happened, according to a Boulder Police Department news release. He was , per department policy.
Herkalo is in custody at the Boulder County Jail, according to online jail records as of Tuesday afternoon. Bond information was not yet available.
He is set to appear for an arraignment at 1:30 p.m. July 23 at the Boulder County Justice Center.
“While we take every domestic violence case seriously, the arrest of a police officer, particularly for alleged misuse of an internal database and a domestic violence charge, is especially concerning,” Boulder County District Attorney Michael Dougherty said in a statement.
