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Officer Steven Luthy arrested and charged with domestic violence [July 31, 2011]
'Disorderly' officer back on duty
Steven Luthy originally charged with hitting wife
Updated: Monday, 27 Feb 2012, 7:49 PM EST
Published : Monday, 27 Feb 2012, 5:47 PM EST
By Leon Hendrix
WOOD TV News
http://www.woodtv.com/dpp/news/local/kalamazoo_and_battle_creek/steven-luthy-back-on-duty-022712
Officer Steven Luthy
Ellen Luthy [Feb. 27, 2012]
Officer Steven Valiant Luthy [July 31, 2011].
Injuries Ellen Luthy suffered in the July 2011 attack.
Injuries Ellen Luthy suffered in the July 2011 attack.
After pleading guilty to charges related to the July 2011 domestic violence attack, Officer Steven Luthy was placed back on duty [Kalamazoo PD] in February 2012.
KALAMAZOO, Mich. (WOOD) - A Kalamazoo Public Safety officer charged with domestic violence in 2011 has had the charges against him lowered and is now back on duty.
Sheriff's officials released the case details at the request of 24 Hour News 8 now that the case is closed.
Officer Steven Luthy was arrested in July 2011 after Van Buren County Sheriff's deputies responded to a 911 call at his home. The deputies found that Luthy's wife Ellen had visible injuries.
Ellen Luthy said she feared for her life the night of the attack.
"It was a pummeling far beyond anything I have ever experienced in my life," she said.
Luthy claimed that Ellen started the fight by throwing something at him, investigation documents show.
He was originally charged with domestic violence and placed on administrative leave. But in January, prosecutors changed the charge to misdemeanor disorderly persons and Luthy pleaded guilty.
Ellen, who filed for a personal protection order against her husband in August 2011, told 24 Hour News 8 that prosecutors contacted her about lowering the charges.
"I adamantly said that I felt very, very uncomfortable with that," said Ellen. "I felt it was up to the judge to decide what his fate should be."
Had the original charge of domestic violence stuck, Luthy would likely no longer be a police officer. Now, after a five-day suspension and a fine of less than $300, Luthy is back to work.
Ellen said she thinks that Luthy's charge was lowered, in part, because he is a police officer.
"There are certain positions, I believe, that there is a moral and ethical standard that's higher," she said.
Kalamazoo Department of Public Safety Chief Jeffrey Hadley told 24 Hour News 8 that the discipline from the department was appropriate.
Officer Luthy has not yet responded to requests for comment.
The Luthys are now in the process of divorcing.
Kalamazoo Public Safety officer gets 5-day suspension following guilty plea in domestic violence case
Published: Tuesday, January 31, 2012, 5:38 PM
Updated: Tuesday, January 31, 2012, 5:52 PM
The Kalamazoo Gazette
By Rex Hall Jr.
http://www.mlive.com/news/kalamazoo/index.ssf/2012/01/kalamazoo_public_safety_office_15.html
Officer Steven Luthy [Kalamazoo PD]
KALAMAZOO — A Kalamazoo Department of Public Safety officer who pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge in a domestic violence case was given a five-day suspension Tuesday by Chief Jeff Hadley.
Steven V. Luthy, 37, of Bloomingdale, was charged with domestic violence following his arrest July 31 for an incident involving his wife at the couple's home. On Jan. 19, Luthy, a 10-year veteran of KDPS, pleaded guilty in Van Buren County District Court to a lesser charge of disturbing the peace.
After he entered his plea, a judge ordered Luthy to pay fines and costs in the case.
In addition to his suspension, Hadley said Luthy was removed from his assignment with the Kalamazoo Valley Enforcement Team and is to be reassigned to the agency's operations division.
Hadley said he expects Luthy to return to duty within a week to 10 days. He said Luthy, who has been on paid administrative leave since July, will lose five days worth of pay with the suspension.
Hadley said he reached the decision on Luthy's suspension after discussions with the city's labor attorney, human resources department and a review of past department practices.
“Looking at the case in its totality ... led us to the conclusion of the discipline that was rendered,” the chief said.
Luthy's wife, Ellen Luthy, told a Van Buren County circuit judge in a petition for a personal-protection order that during the July incident, her husband came home drunk, followed her around their house, hit her in the face and pushed her down some stairs.
The petition also alleged two other previous incidents of domestic violence going back two years.
Kalamazoo Public Safety officer pleads guilty to lesser charge in domestic violence case
Published: Thursday, January 19, 2012, 1:20 PM
Updated: Thursday, January 19, 2012, 6:53 PM
The Kalamazoo Gazette
By Rex Hall Jr.
http://www.mlive.com/news/kalamazoo/index.ssf/2012/01/kalamazoo_public_safety_office_15.html
SOUTH HAVEN — A Kalamazoo Public Safety officer scheduled to stand trial Thursday for misdemeanor domestic violence instead pleaded guilty to a lesser charge, authorities said.
Steven V. Luthy, 37, of Bloomingdale, appeared in Van Buren County District Court in South Haven and entered a guilty plea to one count of disturbing the peace, a misdemeanor punishable by up to 90 days in jail, a court official said.
A judge ordered Luthy to pay fines and costs in the case after he entered his plea. Luthy, a 10-year veteran of KDPS, was originally charged with domestic violence, a misdemeanor punishable by up to 93 days in jail, in connection with a July 31 incident involving his wife at their home.
Luthy's wife, Ellen Luthy, petitioned a Van Buren County circuit judge for a personal-protection order following the incident in July. She wrote to the judge that during the incident her husband had come home drunk, followed her around their house, hit her in the face and pushed her down some stairs.
The petition also alleged two other previous incidents of domestic violence going back two years.
Luthy has been on paid administrative leave at KDPS since his arrest in July.
“We will, in short fashion, complete the internal investigation and have a decision relative to discipline in the near future,” KDPS Chief Jeff Hadley said Thursday of Luthy's status with the department.
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