In a case of alleged LGBTQ+ domestic violence, the 72-year-old Democratic mayor of Fort Lauderdale, Florida said in court testimony Friday he was attacked by his much younger ex-fiancée last week in altercation after his former lover showed up at his home.
Mayor Dean Trantalis revealed that a brawl broke out between him and Daniel James Curran on November 1 outside his house when the 34-year-old former boyfriend allegedly pushed him and the mayor fought back.
Curran allegedly pulled Trantalis to the ground and dragged him 15-feet across the road in front of his property, police say.
The incident resulted in Curran’s arrest where he was accused of battery of a person 65 years of age or older and violation of a protective order that the mayor had obtained back in September.
In the filing for that domestic violence injunction, the three-term mayor accused Curran of throwing things, pulling knives on him, kicking furniture, and demanding Trantalis leave the home, south Florida’s NBC affiliate reported.
During a hearing Friday, Trantalis testified that, despite the no-contact order, he opened the door to his home when Curran showed up last week, hoping to help him.
“I thought maybe there was some way to rehabilitate Danny by trying to reconnect and hopefully steer him into counseling and mental health treatment, and I failed at that,” said Trantalis.
The couple had been together since March, lived together, and were engaged in July, multiple news outlets reported, with the relationship eventually going sour and resulting in the no-contact order.
Trantalis reportedly suffered injuries to his wrist, leg, and knee during the skirmish.
A Broward County judge issued Curran a $6000 bond and ordered him to have no contact with the mayor and to refrain from possessing firearms, weapons, or ammunition.
Curran bonded out of jail on Friday night and sprinted away from media cameras, according to 7 News in Miami.
“Is there anything you want to say about the charges against you?” asked a 7News reporter as he fled.
“I love him,” he said.
“You love him? Despite everything?” said the reporter.
“No matter what. I always have and will love him,” he said.
Contributor Lowell Cauffiel is the author of the New York Times best seller House of Secrets and nine other crime novels and nonfiction titles. See lowellcauffiel.com for more.
