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AACo sheriff arrested, charged with assault

Posted at 5:57 AM, Apr 11, 2016
and last updated 2016-04-11 17:41:33-04
A call for help after a domestic dispute at this two-story home on Pasadena Yacht Yard Road Sunday evening led police to an unexpected suspect---a man who has served as sheriff for almost a decade.

"When they arrived on scene, they spoke with the victim who advised her husband, Anne Arundel County Sheriff Ron Bateman, physically assaulted her,” said Cpl. Jacklyn Davis of the Anne Arundel County Police Department, “Officers conducted several interviews.  They also observed injuries on the victim as well as damage to the residence."

Deputies arrested 54-year old Ron Bateman and took him into custody on a second-degree assault charge.

In a statement, the sheriff said,"I will begin by saying i categorically deny ever assaulting my wife."

He went on to say, "Simply, no criminal actions took place just a very emotional argument between a husband and wife."

But charging documents suggest things turned physical inside the house.

Bateman's wife had returned home from dinner and they began to argue before he ordered her to leave.

He had been drinking.

When she grabbed his money clip, things escalated and he pushed her onto the bed where their 14-year old son witnessed him holding down the victim and intervened.

The confrontation then moved into another room where Bateman allegedly grabbed her, she slapped him in the face and he proceeded to throw her into a wall and push her to the floor.

Deputies saw swelling to his wife's lip and busted blood vessels in her left eye, which supported her claim he had struck her in the face.

Anne Arundel County Police Chief Timothy Altomare stands behind the arrest.

"Are we sad about the incident?  Of course we are,” said Altomare, “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 and we have folks we have to think about---that's the victim in this case and everybody has a right to be treated the same way we would treat anybody else."

The sheriff gave up his weapons and badge following his arrest.

For now, Undersheriff Rick Tabor is handling his duties, and Anne Arundel County State's Attorney Wes Adams has referred the matter to an outside prosecutor, Steve Kroll of the Maryland State's Attorney's Association, to avoid any potential conflicts.

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