Ian Williams Jr., 27, the police officer charged with tampering with a victim-witness and third-degree assault, will be detained until trial.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Geoffrey Barnard, in a written ruling Friday, cited the serious nature of the alleged offenses and the violent content of recorded phone calls allegedly made by Williams to his common-law wife, Brendaly Nazario, as the reason for his decision, according to media reports.
Williams is vice president of the St. Thomas-St. John Police Benevolent Association.
Barnard said he did not consider Williams a flight risk, but he did believe Williams could be a threat to the safety of Nazario and her family.
Barnard ordered that Williams be turned over to the U.S. attorney general for confinement.
Witness tampering is a federal crime. Third-degree assault is a territorial crime.