SANTA CLARA — A Santa Clara police officer was arrested early Saturday after his colleagues were summoned to a Saratoga Avenue home and found his date suffering from visible injuries — the fourth officer in the department to face criminal allegations in the past two years.
Officer Daniel Burde, a seven-year veteran of the force, was arrested shortly after midnight on a charge of felony domestic violence and booked into the Santa Clara County jail, police said.
Burde, 34, was off-duty at the time of the incident and has been placed on paid administrative leave pending the outcome of the investigation, according to police.
Santa Clara police Lt. Daniel Moreno said the girlfriend’s injuries were apparent to responding officers, but not so extensive that she required hospitalization. Burde is currently out of jail, he said.
It is at least the fourth time a Santa Clara officer has been arrested in the past two years on various charges. In March, 14-year veteran Officer Tyson Green, of Los Gatos, was charged with running a chop shop and possessing stolen car parts worth more than $75,000.
That same month, Santa Clara police Sgt. Thomas William Leipelt was convicted of misdemeanor indecent exposure for masturbating nude in front of a Santana Row sales clerk last year, likely ending his 24-year police career. The victim testified that Leipelt propositioned her while he was naked in the boutique’s storage room after having sex in the restroom with his girlfriend, who also worked there as a clerk. He was sentenced to 45 days in jail and five years probation and is required to register as a sex offender.
About a year ago, Officer Kiet Nguyen, a 25-year veteran, was given probation after pleading no contest to misdemeanor shoplifting and possession of burglary tools after he snatched a smartwatch from a West San Jose Target store in May 2015.
Moreno called the number of officers accused of wrongdoing “very unusual.”
“It’s certainly not the norm for our agency,” he said.
