County Releases 911 Call That Led to Anne Arundel County Sheriff's Arrest

Anne Arundel County officials have released a recording of the 911 call that led to the arrest of the county's sheriff on a second-degree assault charge.

In the recording of the April 10 call released Wednesday, a woman who identifies herself as Sheriff Ron Bateman's wife, Elsie, says "the sheriff is drunk and he just punched me in the eye."

The dispatcher call be heard asking on the call, "Are you injured, ma'am? Do you need an ambulance?"

"No, but he might if he don't knock it off," the woman replied.

She said her husband hit her and had drunk alcohol at an event before the dispute. 

Police redacted several portions of the 911 call, which lasted more than five minutes. After one redacted clip, the woman can be heard yelling, "don't come near me" and "shut the door." A man then can be heard speaking unintelligibly in the background.

At the end of the call, the woman said she would wait outside for police.

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In the charging documents, Bateman's wife said he held her down on a bed and pushed her to the floor after she grabbed his money clip. Bateman said he did not hit his wife, but did hold her down, according to the documents. 

Bateman said he and his wife argued that night, but he denied assaulting her.

"We had an emotional dispute that led the police to come to our home... Simply no criminal actions took place, just a very emotional argument between a husband and wife," he said in a statement released April 11, the Capital Gazette reported.

The paper reported that Elsie Bateman released a statement saying "at no point did Ron punch or hit or kick me."

After the call was released, County Executive Steve Schuh and other politicians issued a statement calling for Bateman to resign.

Bateman has returned to work in an administrative capacity.

The sheriff told the Capital Gazette he will not resign following the release of the 911 call.

"Actually, I'm running for re-election in 2018," Bateman told the paper Wednesday afternoon when a reporter reached him by phone.

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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