Los Angeles cop arrested for setting girlfriend's hair on fire after beating her

A Los Angeles County sheriff's deputy was charged with aggravated assault and domestic battery for allegedly attacking his girlfriend before setting her hair on fire, the Orange County Register reported.

Prosecutors said 33-year-old Alejandro Flores attacked the woman on June 28 inside their Buena Park residence after an argument concerning their child's pacifier. The deputy is accused of pushing her into a wall before punching her and grabbing her neck.

Flores then allegedly dragged the woman into the kitchen and turning on a gas burner as he held her over the stove, causing her hair to catch on fire. He was also charged on Monday with false imprisonment and dissuading a witness for threatening to harm the woman if she notified authorities.

According to the Los Angeles Times, the woman escaped with the child the day after the attack, slipping out of the home after Flores went to work and calling local police.

OC Weekly reported that, according to the Orange County District Attorney's office, Flores allegedly hit the woman and broke her nose last October, in an incident that went unreported at the time.

The sheriff's department said Flores, a seven-year veteran of the department, had been "relieved of duty." He is currently listed as part of the Court Services/Transit Bureau. If convicted, the suspect faces up to 25 years and eight months in prison.

[h/t The Free Thought Project]