WASHINGTON — The wife of the Anne Arundel County sheriff says her husband didn’t hit her during an argument that led to his arrest on a misdemeanor charge.
Elsie Bateman released a written statement through her attorney Wednesday and explains why she didn’t join her husband Sheriff Ronald Bateman as he publicly denied any criminal wrongdoing in a brief news conference outside the county courthouse one day ago.
“I did not appear at the press conference with Ron yesterday because I felt it was more important to be available to my children, and shelter them from the media,” Elsie Bateman’s statement reads.
Ronald Bateman was charged with a misdemeanor second-degree assault Sunday after police responding to his Pasadena, Maryland, home found his wife with injuries described as minor, but visible.
“At no point in the argument did Ron punch or hit or kick me,” she said. “He did not intentionally hurt me.”
In the statement, Bateman explains events leading up to the arrest saying her husband asked her to leave the house, she refused and the argument escalated.
“We began to argue like a lot of married couples do from time to time,” Bateman said, adding that no marriage or relationship is perfect.
According to a probable cause affidavit, Bateman told police she slapped her husband in the face. He threw her into a wall, where she hit the back of her head, before he hit her in the left side of her face and mouth.
In his report, county police Cpl. P.D. Grossman wrote, “I saw very slight redness along Ms. Bateman’s left cheek near her eye. The blood vessels in her left eye appeared to be busted and Ms. Bateman had a small swollen spot on the left side of her lower lip.”
Grossman writes that Ronald Bateman acknowledged he had been drinking before the incident.
In her statement, Elsie Bateman says she does not believe that anything that transpired was criminal and she doesn’t wish to pursue a criminal prosecution.
“The investigation is still ongoing. We can’t comment on the case at this time,” said Anne Arundel County Police Corporal Jacklyn Davis.
Domestic abuse cases frequently are prosecuted without the cooperation of alleged victims.
Read Elsie Bateman’s entire statement here:
I would like to clarify what occurred between my husband and I on April 10, 2016 as some of the information that has been released and reported has not been accurate, and may be the result of some misinterpretations. Ron was at an event with some friends. I was out to dinner with my son. I had not been drinking. When I came home at about 6:30, Ron was here alone. He was upstairs, and came downstairs. He appeared agitated, and told me he wanted me to leave the house. Initially I refused. He went back upstairs, and I followed him into the master bedroom. We began to argue like a lot of married couples do from time to time.
At no point in the argument did Ron punch or hit or kick me. He did not intentionally hurt me. No one is perfect, or has a perfect marriage or relationship. I did not obtain a Protective Order because I am not afraid of Ron, and do not need one. I do not believe anything that occurred between us is criminal, and was nothing more than a heated argument between a husband and a wife. I do not wish to pursue a criminal prosecution.
This is the only public statement I intend to make regarding this incident. I did not appear at the press conference with Ron yesterday because I felt it was more important to be available to my children, and shelter them from the media. It is my desire that Ron and I alone deal with this privately, and that people stop making statements and comments about things they do not fully know or understand. They are hurtful to me and my family — especially my children. I would ask that everyone respect our privacy, and stop calling me and asking me questions. Thank you.
