Los Angeles Kings player Slava Voynov was arrested today on suspicion of domestic violence and suspended indefinitely by the National Hockey League.
The arrest of Voynov, 24, was announced by the NHL, which said Voynov will continue to be paid while on suspension.
Voynov was arrested by Redondo Beach police at a Torrance hospital where he was with a woman who was being treated for unspecified injuries, according to Redondo Beach police.
Redondo Beach police were sent to a home in the 800 block of Avenue C about 11:30 p.m. Sunday on a report of a woman crying and screaming, the Daily Breeze reported. Police, however, could not find a victim.
Police were later sent to the hospital, based on a call from a nurse early today, Redondo Beach police Lt. Joe Hoffman told ABC7.
“Nurses are mandated reporters,” he said. “And when the victim was at the hospital in the emergency room being treated, the nature of the injury immediately alarmed the nurse, to the point where she notified the Torrance Police Department, because the hospital is located in the city of Torrance.”
Torrance police relayed the information to Redondo Beach officers, he said.
“We immediately sent officers to the hospital, were able to contact the victim, determined that a crime did in fact occur in Redondo Beach and alsodetermined that the suspect was present at the hospital,” Hoffman said.
Redondo Beach police arrested Voynov and booked him on suspicion of domestic violence, with bail at $50,000, Hoffman said. Voynov was soon freed on bail.
A child may have been in the home at the time of the violence, he said, without elaborating.
Voynov is on paid suspension. His contract “provides that, during the pendency of a criminal investigation, ‘the league may suspend the player pending the league’s formal review and disposition of the matter where the failure to suspend the player during this period would create a substantial risk of material harm to the legitimate interests and/or reputation of the league,’ ” the NHL reported.
Voynov is from Chelyabinsk, Russia.
In a statement, the L.A. Kings said: “These developments are of great concern to our organization. We support the NHL’s decision to suspend Slava Voynov indefinitely during this process, and we will continue to take appropriate action as the legal proceedings and the investigation by the NHL take their course.”
Voynov’s arrest came amid heightened scrutiny of the handling of professional athletes accused of domestic violence.
The National Football League has come under fire for initially handing just a short suspension to former Baltimore Ravens running back Ray Rice, who was caught on security video, knocking out his then-fiancee an Atlantic City casino elevator. Rice was later suspended indefinitely.
