A 44-year-old Petticoat Lane man assaulted a person in his home in various ways, with children in the home aware of what happened, sometime before 8:30 a.m., Friday, when a 911 call was first made, Darien police said.
The very graphic description that follows describes an unusually high degree of violence.
Darien police gave this account describing a domestic violence incident and the police response to it. The account includes accusations not proven in court (see the updates, a comment from the man’s lawyer, at bottom of the article and an update about the case being dismissed in court, a common occurrence after domestic violence charges):
Officers dispatched to the home were told that the caller had hung up twice and was not answering return calls. When police got there, they found the victim (in accordance with state law, police did not say if the victim was a man or woman, adult or child) in the driveway flagging them down.
The victim told police that the man, who lives at the home had gotten into an argument with the victim and he had lost his temper.
Police went into the home to speak with the man, who smelled of alcohol and seemed to have trouble standing. The man said the argument had started over a missed airplane flight, but he said the argument had never become physical.
The victim told police the argument started over the missed flight, which the victim believed had happened because the man was intoxicated.
Victim’s Description of the Assault
According to police, the victim said:
The man began to call the victim obscene names, head-butted the victim, pushed the victim to the ground and, when the victim tried to call 911, he twice took the phone from the victim’s hands.
The victim broke free from the man and tried to run to the front door, but he caught up with the victim, grabbed the victim by the hair and dragged the victim upstairs. He struck the victim several times in the back of the head with a close fist.
He placed his hands around the victim’s neck and tried to strangle the victim, who again tried to break free, but the man grabbed the victim and stuck his finger in the victim’s eye, forcefully.
The victim finally escaped the man and ran out to the driveway.
Further Questions and Arrest
Editor’s note: The police announcement did not mention police seeing any bruises or marks of any kind on the victim and did not mention calling an ambulance or the victim going to the hospital.
Police again asked the man about the altercation becoming physical, and he became agitated and changed his story several times.
Police determined that minor children in the home were present for and witnessed the incident.
The man was arrested on charges of third-degree assault, third-degree strangulation, interfering with an emergency call and risk of injury to a minor. At 12:45 p.m., he posted a $25,000 bond and was released. He was scheduled to appear today, Monday, June 24, in state Superior Court in Stamford.
Update: 3:02 p.m., Monday, June 24 — The man’s lawyer, Mark Sherman of Stamford, called Darienite.com and, although he said that he didn’t want to comment on the specific allegations, he pointed out that “these are just allegations, and there’s a presumption of innocence here.”
He added: “The case will hopefully be resolved quickly and fairly in court.”
Update, April 6 — All charges have been dismissed in state Superior Court in Stamford.