Firefighter arrested for beating teen girl

By Dave Jordan, NEWS 9

An Oklahoma City firefighter, Terrell Selby, was arrested Wednesday night on a complaint of domestic abuse by strangulation of a 16-year-old girl, police said.

Police said Selby attacked the girl, a relative, Saturday morning after she asked him to drive her to a driver's education class.

According to an incident report, the firefighter allegedly began throwing the girl around a bedroom by her hair on Saturday. 

She ran to her room when a steel-toed boot was then thrown at her, according to the report. The attacker threw her on a bed and covered her face with his hand while he hit her in the head with the boot, causing her nose to bleed, the report stated. 

Officers filed the choking complaint, because the attacker held his hand on her throat and her nose where she couldn't breathe. 

A friend in the house at the time threatened to call police, but the attacker ripped the phone from the wall and took away a cell phone, the report stated. 

The girls ran from the residence over to a friend's house and called police. 

"I find it very disturbing and disappointing to think that one of our firefighters would be involved in something like this," Chief Keith Bryant of the Oklahoma City Fire Department said.

The officers photographed the girl's bruises, which showed a pattern of abuse, police said .

"This isn't the first time it's occurred," Sgt. Gary Knight said. "Apparently, some of the bruises looked like they were healing and were probably older in nature."

The victim told police she stayed out late to avoid Selby and kept a window and door unlocked for escape routes.

She was taken into police custody.

Selby was arrested one count of domestic abuse. He has been placed off-duty on administrative leave pending an investigation.

"We'll allow him the opportunity to speak to those charges," Bryant said. "That will take place before we make a final determination on what that employee's status would be."

The Associated Press contributed to this article.