A 49-year-old Darien man was charged with breach of peace on Friday, Feb. 15 after a domestic dispute became physical, police said. What the dispute was about, police couldn’t really say.
Darien police described what happened with this account, including accusations not proven in court:
The victim went to the front door of a neighbor of a man on Outlook Drive and asked for help, police said. The neighbor reported hearing “two people arguing outside for approximately 20 minutes,” according to the police announcement. Then the neighbor heard a knock at the front door. It was the victim, asking for help. The neighbor called police at 3:20 a.m.
The victim was in a relationship with the suspect. Both the victim and the suspect appeared to be under the influence of alcohol when police spoke with them, which may account for the confusing nature of the description of what the two were actually arguing about.
The victim gave police this account:
The two had spent the evening together, and the person had told the suspect that the person intended to leave. In response, the suspect grabbed the person by the wrist in an aggressive way and told the person to leave. (It is unclear how both sides wanting the same thing resulted in a dispute, but that’s apparently the best description police could get.)
The victim tried to calm down the suspect, but the man became increasingly angry. At some point, the two struggled, the victim’s phone was thrown and parts of the victim’s clothing were ripped. The victim said the suspect then started dragging the victim across a floor by the ankles. The victim got free and ran out of the house to the neighbor.
It is unclear whether the neighbor’s statement that the neighbor heard 20 minutes of arguing outside is compatible, in whole or in part, with the victim being dragged across a floor and running out of the house.
Officers spoke with the suspect:
The suspect said the victim had been drinking alcohol and had become verbally abusive toward him and his family members earlier in the evening. He said he asked the victim to leave several times, but the victim didn’t go. The situation calmed down, and the two went to sleep.
Later, the suspect awoke as the victim was climbing on him. At that point he again asked the victim to leave. He admitted grabbing the victim by the wrist and pulling the victim by the ankles in an attempt to get the victim to leave.
Police issued a misdemeanor appearance ticket to the man, charging him with breach of peace. He was scheduled to be in state Superior Court in Stamford that day, Feb. 15.