Hampton Township police officer charged with assaulting wife with gun
Bay City Times, The: Web Edition Articles (MI)
May 19, 2017
BAY CITY, MI -- A longtime Hampton Township police officer is facing two criminal charges stemming from an alleged assault on his wife that involved a pistol.
Officer Craig J. Bouckaert, 57, on Friday, May 19, appeared before Bay County District Judge Mark E. Janer via closed-circuit TV from the Midland County Jail. The judge arraigned Bouckaert on single counts of assault with a dangerous weapon and domestic violence. The former is a felony punishable by up to four years' imprisonment and a $2,000 fine, while the latter is a misdemeanor carrying a maximum potential penalty of 93 days in jail and a $500 fine.
Atypical for a felony case involving these charges, Bouckaert's court file does not include police reports. The only details available regarding the precipitating incident state it occurred at Bouckaert's home in the 1400 block of Helen Street in Bay City at about 10 p.m. on Thursday, May 18, and that Bay City police were the arresting agency.
Police declined to say how the gun factored into the incident or if shots were fired. The Bay City Times-MLive was unable to reach Hampton Township Police Chief Bryan Benchley for comment.
At his arraignment, Bouckaert only spoke to answer the judge's yes-or-no questions. He declined Janer's offer of a court-appointed attorney, saying he plans to hire his own counsel.
Bouckaert has been an officer with the Hampton Township Police Department for 30 years.
Bay County Prosecutor Nancy E. Borushko appeared at the arraignment and asked Janer to set bond at $10,000 cash-surety or 10 percent. Janer granted her request.
If Bouckaert posts the bond, he's not to own any weapons, consume alcohol, or have contact with his wife, her children, or her grandchildren.
Records show Bouckaert married his wife in June 2015.
Bouckaert is to appear for a preliminary examination in two weeks.
Police officer accused of pointing gun at wife faces felony
Bay City Times, The: Web Edition Articles (MI)
May 30, 2017
BAY CITY, MI -- Police have released additional information on an incident that involved one of their colleagues allegedly brandishing a handgun, leading him to face criminal charges and resign from his job.
Details on the arrest of 57-year-old Hampton Township Police Officer Craig J. Bouckaert come from police reports obtained by The Bay City Times-MLive.com via a Freedom of Information Act request sent to the Bay City Department of Public Safety. The reports state that at about 8 p.m. on Thursday, May 18, police responded to a domestic violence complaint involving a firearm at Bouckaert's home in the 1400 block of Helen Street in Bay City.
Police could hear yelling as they arrived. They contacted Bouckaert's wife, who told them her husband no longer had the gun and that he was sitting in his truck, which was parked in their driveway.
Three officers approached the driveway, the lead one armed with an AR-15. At officers' commands, Bouckaert exited his truck and surrendered without incident.
Officers interviewed Bouckaert's wife, who said they had an argument and an upset Bouckaert left for a walk. When he returned home, he retrieved his department-issued handgun from his nightstand.
The wife tried to prevent Bouckaert from leaving the bedroom, but he shoved her out of the way, she said.
"Craig did point the gun at me and threaten me with it," she said. "It happens all the time. It must have happened in the bedroom, but I am not sure."
At the home at the time were Bouckaert's wife's three adult children and two grandchildren.
The wife's son managed to get the gun away from Bouckaert, she said. She added she did not want her husband to get into trouble or lose his job, saying he "is a good man."
Bouckaert told police he and his wife had argued and that he had gotten into his truck to drive around in and cool down. When officers asked if a gun had been involved, Bouckaert initially said he had retrieved one from a drawer in his room, but had not threatened anyone with it. He had planned to drive to his work in Hampton Township and put the gun in his locker, he said.
Bouckaert said he had struggled with his wife and her son as he tried leaving, knocking over a bookcase in the process. The son took the gun out of Bouckaert's truck before police arrived, he said.
Pressed further in the interview, Bouckaert somewhat changed his story.
"I don't remember pointing (the gun) at her but if she said I did then I must have," he told police, according to reports. "(She) was blocking me from leaving. I pushed her aside to get out of the bedroom."
Bouckaert's stepson told police he had tried wrestling the gun from Bouckaert. He followed him to his truck and was able to fetch the gun from the backseat of Bouckaert's truck, he said.
"I took the gun inside, unloaded the gun, and put it in my room," he told police. "There was one bullet in the chamber, but I took it out."
The stepson gave police the .45-caliber Glock 36 handgun and the bullet he had removed from it. No shots were fired in the incident.
Police arrested Bouckaert and transported him to the Midland County Jail.
The following afternoon, Bouckaert appeared in Bay County District Court for arraignment on single counts of assault with a dangerous weapon and domestic violence. The former charge is a four-year felony; the latter is a 93-day misdemeanor.
The same day, he resigned from the Hampton Township Police Department, where he had been an officer for 30 years, said Chief Bryan Benchley.
Bouckaert is to appear for a preliminary examination at 2:30 p.m. on Thursday, June 8.
Case dismissed against ex-cop accused of threatening wife
Bay City Times, The (MI)
August 10, 2017
BAY CITY — A few months ago, a Hampton Township police officer resigned after three decades on the force after he was charged with a firearm-related felony of assaulting his wife.
He’s now in the clear from prosecution, though, as his wife testified he never harmed or threatened her.
The preliminary examination of 57-year-old Craig Bouckaert took place Tuesday. When it started, Bouckaert was charged with a four-year felony count of assault with a dangerous weapon and a misdemeanor charge of domestic violence.
As his lone witness, Bay County Chief Assistant Prosecutor Jeffrey Stroud called the defendant’s wife, Doree Bouckaert, to the stand.
She testified that the night of May 18, she had argued with her husband in their house in the 1400 block of Helen Street. Present at the time were her three adult children and two young grandsons, she said.
“He got upset, and he ended up walking out,” she testified.
Her husband returned about dusk, she said. When she took their dog outside, she was startled to see him. He walked into their garage, shut the door and attempted to lock it, she testified.
About that time, one of Doree Bouckaert’s sons went into the garage to talk to his stepfather.
“All (Craig Bouckaert) kept yelling was, ‘Keep her away from me,’” the witness testified. “I heard (my son) say, ‘C’mon, you know she loves you. Don’t do this.’”
As she testified, Bouckaert sat beside defense attorney Matthew Reyes.
Eventually, Craig and Doree Bouckaert entered their home and proceeded to their bedroom. Once there, Craig Bouckaert retrieved a pistol from his nightstand, his wife said.
“I remember I had a hold of his arm, and with everything, held it down, and told him, ‘Put it down, put it down,’” she said. “He was intensely angry.”
Craig Bouckaert pulled away and shoved down a bookcase, his wife said.
Craig Bouckaert left the house and entered his truck and shut its door. His wife then jumped on the back of the truck, she said.
“I was determined he can leave, but not with the gun,” she said.
She added that at no point did her husband point the gun at her.
When police arrived, she did not know how they were summoned, but later learned her daughter had called 911.
Stroud asked Doree Bouckaert if she told police her husband had pointed the gun at her. She said she had not, though officers’ reports indicate she did.
Under cross-examination, Reyes asked her if, at any time during the incident, she felt her safety was threatened. She said she had not.
After she stepped down, Stroud asked Bay County District Judge Mark Janer to dismiss the case. The judge obliged.
Bouckaert had resigned from the Hampton Township police May 19, the same day he was arraigned on criminal charges. Because he served for 31 years, he is eligible for retirement benefits, Hampton Police Lt. Michael Wedding said.
Former Police officer Craig Bouckaert hired by the Hampton Township Fire Department
Harter Township Of Hampton
Regular Meeting Via Zoom
December 28, 2020
