Anne Arundel County Leaders Call For Sheriff's Resignation After Police Report, 911 Tapes Released

BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- Anne Arundel County leaders are calling for Sheriff Ron Bateman's resignation after the county police department released new documents detailing his domestic assault arrest last week.

Executive Steve Schuh, Senator Ed Reilly, and Republican Central Committee Chairman Nathan Volke released a joint statement Wednesday morning.

It reads:

"Violence against women is a serious issue in our state and in our county. The new information contained in these recently released documents and recording pertaining to Sheriff Ron Bateman's domestic violence case are troubling and unsettling. While everyone should be afforded their day in court, we hold our elected officials, especially ones in law enforcement roles, to a higher standard. This criminal case threatens the public trust in the Office of Anne Arundel County Sheriff, and compromises Mr. Bateman's ability to administer the Sheriff's Office. For these reasons, we believe it is in the best interests of our citizens that Sheriff Bateman resign his office."

Bateman's wife, Elsie Bateman, called 911 on her husband April 10, telling police that he assaulted her in their Pasadena home. The 54-year-old sheriff was arrested and charged with second-degree assault.

Three days later, Mrs. Bateman released a statement recanting her story to WJZ. (You can read it in full below.)

Sheriff Bateman, who has held his office since December 2006, held a press conference that week, too.

"Things were said to the police during high emotions, high stress and high anger that were just blown out of proportion and not true," he said.

However, according to the full police report from the night of Sheriff Bateman's arrest, Mrs. Bateman told the responding officer that she and her husband had gotten into an argument, after which she locked him out of the house. He kicked in the garage door to regain entry, and the fight continued.

Eventually, they ended up in the master bedroom. Mrs. Bateman's teenage son told police, according to the report, that he saw Sheriff Bateman holding his mother down on the bed after she called for his help, but was told to go back to his room.

The report goes on to detail that Mrs. Bateman told the responding officer that her husband threw her to the ground, into a wall and hit her in the face and in the mouth, although "she did not specifically know what part of Mr. Bateman's body caused her injuries or if the injuries were a result of her being thrown or pushed to the floor."

The officer reports that he saw "very slight redness along Ms. Bateman's cheek near her left eye." Also, "the blood vessels in her left eye appeared to be busted and Ms. Bateman had a small, swollen spot on the left side of her lower lip."

Sheriff Bateman told the officer who took the report that he did not strike his wife or throw her on the floor or wall during the fight, but did hold her down on the bed "in an effort to retrieve the money clip she had taken without his permission."

Photographs of the home were released along with the full police report, though photos of Mrs. Bateman's injuries were not, due to HIPAA restrictions.

Also included in the report is a text message chain between Mrs. Batman and a domestic violence and assault investigator.

In it, Mrs. Bateman talks to the investigator about getting X-rays, about her husband's plans to go to counseling and says Sheriff Bateman "cleaned out our bank account."

The audio of Mrs. Bateman's original call to police was also released Wednesday.

And despite Mrs. Bateman's statement that she does not "wish to pursue a criminal prosecution," her husband is still being charged.

Steve Kroll, the Director of the Maryland State's Attorney's Association, has agreed to serve as special counsel in the case due to the unique relationship between the Anne Arundel County State's Attorney's Office and the Anne Arundel County Sheriff's Office.

According to the Capital Gazette, Anne Arundel County Sheriff Ron Bateman said Wednesday afternoon that he will not resign, saying in a statement, "Actually, I'm running for re-election in 2018."

Full statement from Elsie Bateman made to WJZ on the week of April 10:

"I would like to clarify  what occurred between my husband and I on April 10, 2016 as some of the information that has been released and reported has not been accurate, and may be the result of some misinterpretations. Ron was at an event with some friends. I was out to dinner with my son. I had not been drinking.  When I came home at about 6:30, Ron was here alone. He was upstairs, and came downstairs. He appeared agitated, and told me he wanted me to leave the house. Initially I refused. He went back upstairs, and I followed him into the master bedroom. We began to argue like alot of married couples do from time to time.                 

At no point in the argument did Ron punch or hit or kick me. He did not intentionally hurt me. No one is perfect, or has a perfect marriage or relationship. I did not obtain a Protective Order because I am not afraid of Ron, and do not need one. I do not believe anything that occurred between us is criminal, and was nothing more than a heated argument between a husband and a wife. I do not wish to pursue a criminal prosecution.

This is the only public statement I intend to make regarding this incident. I did not appear at the press conference with Ron yesterday because I felt it was more important to be available to my children, and shelter them from the media. It is my desire that Ron and I alone deal with this privately, and that people stop making statements and comments about things they do not fully know or understand. They are hurtful to me and my family - especially my children. I would ask that everyone respect our privacy, and stop calling me and asking me questions. Thank you."

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