A 29-year-old Bridgeport man is facing charges after a domestic incident turned violent Friday night, leading police to forcibly enter his Cleveland Avenue home out of concern for the safety of his estranged wife and two children.
John Anderson is charged with violation of a protective order, second-degree strangulation, unlawful restraint, third-degree assault, interfering with police and three counts of risk of injury to a minor.
Police said it’s not clear how Anderson’s estranged wife and children ended up at his Cleveland Avenue address Friday night, but that once there, they were locked in a bedroom and his wife told police Anderson had punched and kicked her.
Police responded to the scene after a friend of the victim called police and said she was worried about her friend’s well being. The victim had called her friend about two hours prior to say she was leaving with her estranged husband and kids, then called her grandmother pleading for help.
Officers arrived and set up a perimeter around Anderson’s house. After trying for 20 minutes to get someone to come to the door, police spoke with the victim over the phone. An officer asked if she had been injured and if she was inside the home with Anderson. The victim answered “yes” to both questions, and police decided to enter the house.
Police found the victim and children locked in a third-floor bedroom with Anderson. The victim told police Anderson had punched and kicked her repeatedly.
Anderson was arrested at the scene.
