[WA] Benton Co. Sheriff's Deputy Campos walks away from domestic violence charges

Benton County sheriff's Deputy Abel Prieto Campos walks away from domestic violence charge despite hair pulled out of his wife's head and signs of physical assault on the side of her head  because she recanted and her mother backed away. 

Recanting seems to be the norm in officer-involved domestic violence. Is she claiming to have beat herself up and yanked out her own hair? The articles don't say.

DOMESTIC VIOLENCE CASE AGAINST SHERIFF'S DEPUTY DISMISSED
The Bellingham Herald
Kristin M. Kraemer, Tri-City Herald
Published: October 13, 2012
[Excerpts] The case against a Benton County sheriff's deputy accused of hitting his wife was dismissed Friday because the alleged victim changed her story and his mother-in-law refused to come to court, the prosecutor said. Abel Prieto Campos, 42, had been set to face a jury Monday in Benton County District Court on a simple assault charge with domestic violence... [Campos attorney, Yakima lawyer Adam] Moore asked for the return of his client's duty weapon... Sheriff Steve Keane on Friday told the Herald that his internal investigation is almost complete... The sheriff also explained that the burden of proof is different in an internal investigation. Where proof "beyond a reasonable doubt" is required in a criminal case, "ours is based on a preponderance of evidence" he said... Richland officers were sent to Campos' Greenview Drive home at 11:58 p.m. June 2... Police found Campos' wife "visibly upset and crying"... Campos allegedly hit her on the side of the head two or three times while she was in bed next to the young girl. Some of the woman's hair was pulled out in the alleged attack, and she later showed police a wad of hair. The woman told officers that after Campos left the room, she called her mother, who called police, court documents said. One officer noted that the right side of the woman's head and her right ear were red as if they had been hit, there was a spot behind her right ear where hair appeared to be missing, and there was swelling above her right eye, documents said. Campos told police "it was a verbal argument only"... [Full article here]

LAST JUNE:

BENTON CO. DEPUTY ON ADMINISTRATIVE LEAVE
KAPP-TV
By Josh Peterson.
Published Tuesday, June 5th, 2012
[Excerpts] A Benton County sheriff's deputy is put on administrative leave as officers investigate him for an alleged assault. According to court documents, 40 year-old Able Campos is suspected of assaulting his wife... She said the assault caused her hair to be pulled out, and she showed a wad of hair to officers when they arrived.... The Richland Police Department is conducting a criminal investigation into the incident, and the Benton County Sheriff's office is conducting its own internal investigation as well. "We'll wait to see what the outcome of the criminal investigation is and then we'll apply everything to the administrative investigation to see where we're at. And again, he's been a good employee and I don't want to presume that he's guilty or innocent" said Benton County Sheriff Steve Keane... Sheriff Keane says that investigation could take months to complete... [Full article here] [Full article here]

BENTON SHERIFF'S DEPUTY ARRESTED
Tri-City Herald
By Paula Horton and Kristin M. Kraemer, Herald staff writers
Published: June 5, 2012
[Excerpts]
...[Benton County sheriff's deputy] Abel Prieto Campos, 40, spent about 30 hours in the Benton County and Franklin County jails before his appearance Monday morning in Benton County District Court. Campos was released after his court appearance after pleading innocent to simple assault with domestic violence filed by the city of Richland. Simple assault is a gross misdemeanor offense, comparable to fourth-degree assault... [Richland Capt. Mike] Cobb said he was immediately notified of the incident by his department's on-duty supervisor, which is standard procedure for officer-involved arrests. A sheriff's commander also was called by a sheriff's department on-duty supervisor, he said. Cobb, who was in contact with the sheriff's commander during the arrest, said he directed his officers to take Campos to the Franklin County jail "because of the risks involved" in housing him at the Benton County jail. What happened next is characterized by Keane as a "convoluted mess," spurred by what Cobb called "an unfortunate series of miscommunication"... Judge Burrowes ordered Campos not to consume any alcohol and to have no contact with his wife and daughter while the case is pending. His personal guns reportedly were secured by a relative, but Campos must surrender them to the city of Richland by June 11 to be held by police until the case is resolved... [SheriffKeane said he also intends to review the department's policies and procedures in light of what happened. [Full article here]
[police officer involved domestic violence oidv intimate partner violence ipv abuse law enforcement public safety recant state politics]