A Denver Sheriff Department deputy was arrested Tuesday afternoon after allegedly choking his girlfriend or wife.

The Denver Police Department arrested 34-year-old Willie Smalls, a deputy for the Denver Sheriff Department, on suspicion of second-degree assault, domestic violence.

Officers responded to a domestic violence report at an apartment in the 100 block of East Yale Avenue around 1 p.m. Tuesday, according to arrest records. Upon arrival, the female victim claimed that Smalls had strangled her with his left arm for around one minute.

When asked to describe the amount of pressure on her neck on a scale of one-to-ten, she said 10, according to arrest records. She also had a red mark on the right side of her neck.

Officers then entered the apartment and arrested Smalls without incident.

Smalls was placed on investigatory leave by the Denver Sheriff’s Department Tuesday afternoon. The Office of the Independent Monitor was notified and the Public Integrity Division opened an investigation, according to the sheriff department.

Smalls had been employed by the department since 2023 and worked at the Downtown Detention Center.