From Staff Reports

ASHEVILLE, N.C. — An Asheville police officer was arrested Feb. 21 on a warrant that alleges he assaulted a woman days before he was sworn in and while he was a trainee with the police department, the Asheville Citizen Times reported on Feb. 21.

In a morning news release Feb. 21, the Asheville Police Department disclosed Paul Anthony Duvernay III, 39, of Asheville, was arrested by the Buncombe County Sheriff’s Office in Swannanoa under a charge of assault on a female.

His arrest warrant alleges he grabbed a woman’s arms and leg while pulling her off a bed. His actions allegedly caused “significant bruising,” according to a copy of the warrant obtained by the ACT.

The date of offense listed on the warrant is Feb. 3. However, the warrant was issued on Feb. 20, the same day APD officers responded to an apartment complex on Palisades Circle for a trespassing complaint, the department said in the news release.

The warrant and trespassing complaint also came on Feb. 20, the same day Duvernay III was sworn in as a police officer, according to APD’s Facebook page.

 In a livestream of the department’s Basic Law Enforcement Training graduation and swearing in ceremony, Duvernay III is seen identifying himself as from The Bronx, New York, and as an officer in Asheville’s North Central District.