Former Riviera Beach cop Clifford B. Giltman arrested for allegedly slapping his wife in dispute

RIVIERA BEACH, Fla. — A former Riviera Beach Police officer was arrested on Sunday after he was accused of slapping his wife in the face.

Clifford B. Giltman, 53, will be released on his own recognizance from the Palm Beach County Jail later this morning. He is facing domestic battery charges.

Giltman was arrested after a Palm Beach County Sheriff's deputy responded to the couple's home Sunday morning. The wife, identified as 43-year-old Michelle Giltman, told the deputy that she and her husband were arguing over her son's cellphone when he slapped the left side of her face three times, according to the probable cause affidavit.

The deputy noted in the affidavit that Michelle Giltman's face had a "red mark and puffiness on the left side."

Giltman denied hitting his wife, and instead accused her of striking him in the face and shoving him out of her way, the affidavit stated.

This morning, during Giltman's first appearance hearing, Palm Beach County Circuit Judge Ted S. Booras released Giltman on his own recognizance, but ordered he have no violent contact with his wife.