Wife Of AACo. Sheriff: 'At No Point Did He Hit Me'
PASADENA, Md. (WJZ) — A new twist in the case of the Anne Arundel County sheriff charged with domestic assault. Ronald Bateman's wife now says he never hit her.
WJZ's Tracey Leong explains the sheriff had already said his wife recanted her story.
Sheriff Bateman's wife Elsie says the assault charges were misinterpreted, and that her husband never hit her or intentionally hurt her.
On Sunday night, Elsie Bateman called for help, telling police her husband, Sheriff Ronald Bateman, assaulted her in their Pasadena home.
Police found Elsie with injuries to her face. The 54-year-old sheriff was charged with second-degree assault.
Now, three days later, it's a dramatically different story. Elsie released a statement to WJZ, saying:
"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."
It comes one day after Elsie's husband announced his wife recanted the story.
"Things were said to the police during high emotions, high stress and high anger that were just blown out of proportion and not true," Sheriff Bateman said on Tuesday.
RELATED: AACo. Sheriff Denies Domestic Assault, Says Wife Recanted Story
WJZ obtained the charging documents, detailing the alleged domestic assault: "Ms. Bateman said Mr. Bateman threw her into a wall in the craft room and she hit the back of her head." And then, "Mr. Bateman hit her in the left side of her face and her mouth."
With these newest twists in the domestic assault case, Anne Arundel County police tell WJZ their investigation is still active and the charges have not been dropped.
"It's been very important to us as a police department that we did the right thing for the right reasons at the right moment in this incident," said Chief Timothy Altomare, Anne Arundel County Police Department.
Elsie has said she does not wish to pursue criminal charges, but since this is a domestic violence matter, it's now up to the state.
The sheriff is facing misdemeanor second-degree assault charges.
