[OR] Detectives won't help victim get away, so Officer Shinya walks away from felony charges

...Initially, the 42 year old woman didn't want to file a police report, but later said that she would if police would relocate her to another state. Detectives told her that wasn't possible... Because of his girlfriend's reluctance to press charges, the District Attorney's office determined that the only potential criminal charges would be misdemeanors...

Forest Grove police officer resigns amid abuse charges Masaru Shinya, who was honored last year, steps down after his girlfriend complains of domestic violence
The Forest Grove News-Times
By Christian Gaston
Oct 19, 2008, Updated 18 hours ago
[Excerpts] A Forest Grove police officer who won praise for saving a man from drowning in Hagg Lake last year has resigned following allegations of domestic violence. According to documents obtained by Fox 12, Masaru Shinya, 43, who was hired by the city in 2002, forfeited his state law enforcement certification in August and agreed to never apply for police work in Oregon in order to avoid a misdemeanor criminal charge... Detectives located Shinya's girlfriend at a Salem domestic violence shelter on July 3, five days after her family reported her missing... Initially, the 42-year-old woman didn't want to file a police report, but later said that she would if police would relocate her to another state. Detectives told her that wasn't possible. She then told police about Shinya's "threatening and irrational behavior," according to the prosecutor's report, and said she feared for her life but didn't want Shinya to lose his job as a police officer. According to the documents, she later described allegations of physical and sexual abuse, but again declined to file charges. Shinya denied his girlfriend's allegations of physical and sexual abuse, according to the records, though he did acknowledge that he had an anger problem. According to the charging decision, evidence suggests that Shinya also has "significant alcohol abuse issues." Because of his girlfriend's reluctance to press charges, the District Attorney's office determined that the only potential criminal charges would be misdemeanors, stemming from one alleged incident of domestic violence in March that was corroborated by the victim's sister. Since the case was so thin, the DA's office decided to accept an offer from Shinya's lawyers to drop the case in return for his promise to leave police work... Shinya's girlfriend didn't object to the deal when contacted through her lawyer, according to the charging statement. She did not return calls from Fox 12. [Full article here]