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Friday, May 28, 2010

[WA] Washington State Patrol Trooper Trent Clasen arrested for domestic violence

 Trooper suspected of domestic violence
Yakima Herald-Republic
by Mark Morey
May 25, 2010
[Excerpts] A Yakima state trooper is assigned to his home while authorities investigate a complaint that he assaulted his wife over the weekend. Trooper Trent Clasen, 42, was booked into the Yakima County jail... The Yakima city prosecutor's office was reviewing the case because county prosecutors routinely work with Clasen and other troopers... Lt. Jim Keightley with the State Patrol said Clasen, an 18-year veteran of the force, had been relieved of his issued firearms and badge while the investigation continues. "The WSP takes these kinds of incidents very seriously," Keightley said... Clasen's wife was granted a temporary court order Monday barring Clasen from contacting her... Clasen's wife said he grabbed her wrists during the incident and struggled with her until their 14-year-old daughter was able to grab her mother's cell phone and call 9-1-1...  [Full article here]
[police officer involved domestic violence oidv intimate partner violence (IPV) abuse law enforcement public washington state patrol child]

3 comments:

  1. AnonymousJuly 18, 2010

    Yakima trooper arrested on suspicion of domestic violence won't face charges
    News Tribune
    May 29 - YAKIMA - A Yakima state trooper arrested on suspicion of domestic violence will not be charged, a special prosecutor said Friday.

    Trooper Trent Clasen, 42, was arrested early last Saturday at his West Valley home after his wife reported to Yakima County sheriff's deputies that he had forcefully grabbed her wrists and shook her during a struggle to recover his cell phone.

    His wife had taken the cell phone to read text messages which ended up prompting an argument between the couple. The encounter ended when their 14-year-old daughter hit Clasen on the back as he had his wife cornered in the bathroom, according to reports by Yakima County sheriff's deputies who responded to a 9-1-1 call.

    Yakima County prosecutors asked Cynthia Martinez, a city of Yakima prosecutor, to handle the case because the county prosecutor's office regularly works with Clasen and other troopers.

    Martinez's memo to county prosecutors suggests that she could not justify taking the case to trial given the expected defense that Clasen was only trying to recover his cell phone.

    That argument made it unlikely she would be able to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that an assault occurred, Martinez wrote, although she left open the possibility of reconsidering her decision if new evidence was presented.

    Necessary force may be used to defend personal property, she noted.

    In a brief statement to sheriff's deputies, Clasen denied assaulting his wife.

    State Patrol officials had assigned the 18-year trooper to his home after he was released from the Yakima County jail. He was expected to face an internal investigation, but an update was not available from patrol officials Friday afternoon.

    Copyright (c) 2010, Yakima Herald-Republic, Wash.

    Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.

    http://www.thenewstribune.com/2010/05/29/1205777/yakima-trooper-arrested-on-suspicion.html?plckFindCommentKey=CommentKey:8965c7a8-0f8a-47fa-8165-808eab3ef9f4

    ReplyDelete
  2. Officer Clasen is a real piece of work. I had the extreme displeasure of being entrapped by this DB while passing through Yakima. No surprise he's a wife beater. This "man" does not belong in public service.

    ReplyDelete
  3. We don't know that he is a wife beater.

    What I find interesting is that the case is written about as if only one person is involved. I read the article about no charges looking for whether the wife was not cooperating with prosecution - OR if she wanted charges at all. (Most don't.)

    ReplyDelete

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