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Officer Joanne Buiwitt-Shafer arrested for domestic violence
Assault charges lead to officer's firing
Longtime Ann Arbor cop denies beating her boyfriend outside bar in November
Wednesday, January 12, 2005
BY AMALIE NASH
The Ann Arbor News
http://www.mlive.com/news/aanews/index.ssf?/base/news-11/1105542608248690.xml
A veteran Ann Arbor police officer has been fired from her job after she was charged with severely beating her boyfriend and stealing his cell phone after leaving a bar on the west side of the state.
Joanne Buiwitt-Shafer, 39, was charged in a warrant with aggravated domestic violence and larceny less than $200 and will go to trial on the charges Jan. 25.
Buiwitt-Shafer, who was employed at the Ann Arbor Police Department for nearly 17 years, on Tuesday called the case "an alleged incident" and said she believed she would be vindicated in court.
"I will have my day in court," Buiwitt-Shafer said. "It's too bad the city had to render a decision before I had my day in court."
Police Chief Daniel Oates said Buiwitt-Shafer was placed on paid administrative leave following the Nov. 14 incident in Vicksburg, near Kalamazoo, and was fired Dec. 21 after an internal investigation. Oates said he could not elaborate on the department's investigation.
"I think the actions of the department speak for itself," Oates said. "The conduct here is not acceptable for an Ann Arbor police officer."
According to police reports, the incident took place around 8 p.m. Nov. 14 in Vicksburg after Buiwitt-Shafer and a 48-year-old man identified in police reports as her boyfriend were at the Hide-Away Bar.
Reports say the victim said he became upset with Buiwitt-Shafer and left the bar after she lifted her top and exposed herself to other customers. He told police she found him, tried to get him into her car and then began punching and kicking him while dragging him toward the car, the reports said.
Buiwitt-Shafer told police that night that she was trying to get the man into her car, but could not explain his injuries, reports said. Police reports said the man had cuts and bruises, a bloody nose and complained of not being able to breathe because of soreness of his rib cage.
Buiwitt-Shafer said Tuesday that she was advised by her attorney not to discuss the case because it is pending, but that the police reports contain inaccurate information.
A witness told police that he was across the railroad tracks from the parking lot and saw a person lying on the ground and someone above that person kicking and punching him, reports said. The witness said he yelled at them to stop fighting, then ran to Buiwitt-Shafer's car, grabbed the keys to prevent her from leaving before police arrived, and went to a nearby party store to call 911, reports said.
Officer Christopher Owens said in his report that when he got to the scene, Buiwitt-Shafer yelled that the witness who was holding her keys had gotten into her car and stolen the keys and her purse. The witness was handcuffed for a short time and placed in a police cruiser after Buiwitt-Shafer accused him of stealing her purse, reports said.
Vicksburg Police Chief Mike Descheneau said that it was his officer's opinion after investigating the case that the witness had not stolen Buiwitt-Shafer's purse and he believes that was a diversion by Buiwitt-Shafer.
Kalamazoo County Chief Assistant Prosecutor Carrie Klein said she could not comment on that issue or any other aspects of the case while it is pending. The victim's cell phone was in Buiwitt-Shafer's vehicle, but it was unclear from reports when or how she was accused of taking it.
Ann Arbor Detective William Stanford, president of the Ann Arbor Police Officers Association, would only say that the union is ensuring that the contractual rights of its officer are protected. "The process is continuing," he said.
Aggravated domestic violence, which requires a serious or aggravated injury less than great bodily harm, is a misdemeanor punishable by up to a year in jail. The larceny charge is a 93-day misdemeanor.
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