SEPTA cop placed on leave after second arrest

A SEPTA Transit Police Department officer has been placed on administrative leave after his second arrest in as many months, the transportation authority said Tuesday.

Steven Miele, 30, was already on administrative duty stemming from a Sept. 5 arrest. He was arrested again on Monday and charged with burglary and theft following a domestic dispute, police said.

Transit Police Chief Thomas J. Nestel III said both incidents occurred while Miele was off-duty and in Mount Ephraim, New Jersey.

Miele was charged with simple assault in the Sept. 5 incident. Details weren’t available.

Nestel said the Mount Ephraim police are investigating both incidents, and SEPTA doesn’t have any additional information that can be released. The chief praised the SEPTA Transit Police Department for its “immediate and appropriate” response to Miele’s charges, first in placing him on administrative duty, then on leave.

The transit authority’s Police Board of Inquiry will determine the appropriate discipline for Miele, Nestel said.