Dallas Police Department announced that one of its officers has been placed on administrative leave following his arrest for alleged family violence while off-duty Wednesday.

An internal affairs investigation has been launched into an apparent incident that occurred on September 6 involving Officer Nicholas Hernandez of Dallas’ southeast patrol.

Hernandez was taken into custody by the DPD’s Public Integrity Unit for an alleged domestic assault, according to The Dallas Morning News.

While little information has been revealed about the alleged incident, the charge assessed was a family violence assault, a Class C misdemeanor punishable by a $500 fine. These offenses tend to involve assaults in which the victim suffered no physical pain or lasting harm.

Hernandez has been with the DPD since July 2021, making him one of approximately 3,100 officers currently employed to police the city.

According to an earlier analysis from the City of Dallas, an adequate police force for a city the size of Dallas is 4,000, or about three officers for every 1,000 residents.

Crime rates have risen as DPD grapples with its shortage of officers, with Downtown Dallas seeing considerable hikes in car thefts and drug violations. This prevalence of crime is especially apparent when compared to the downtown area of Fort Worth, which is patrolled by a dedicated police unit and private security officers.

While Hernandez’s future with the DPD is pending, another officer named Javier Granados was terminated by Police Chief Eddie Garcia in July for similar reasons.

As previously reported in The Dallas Express, Granados had been charged with family violence assault causing bodily injury, a Class A misdemeanor, while off-duty in November of last year.

Few details were released about the alleged incident, but Granados, who had been with the DPD since September 2019, was placed on administrative leave and later fired due to the accusations.

DPD keeps track of domestic violence incidents reported within city limits. This dashboard indicates 9,523 such reports were logged this year as of September 8, with 1,215 considered aggravated assaults and nine leading to a partner killed.

District 7, represented by Council Member Adam Bazaldua, saw the highest number of domestic violence offenses reported this year at 1,095.

Moreover, a survey conducted by researchers with the support of the Department of Justice in 2019 found that only about half of domestic violence incidents are actually reported to the authorities nationwide.