Sheriff’s detective charged with domestic assault
Hamilton County Sheriff’s Detective Richard Patterson has been charged with domestic assault following a domestic violence call earlier this month in Hixson.
According to an affidavit filed in court Monday, deputies were dispatched to the 6800 block of Hampton Woods Circle on a report of domestic violence involving Patterson on Oct. 9.
The affidavit says that upon arrival on the scene, police witnessed an ongoing verbal dispute between Patterson and his wife, Courtney Patterson. Their daughter, 17, was present at the time of the incident.
All three Pattersons said at that time no physical altercation had taken place that day.
A follow-up investigation started with a review of the 911 call made on Oct. 9. On the call, the affidavit said Patterson’s daughter could be heard saying her father was hurting her mother. The daughter also stated there had been a history of physical altercations in the past and that she feared the situation was escalating, according to the affidavit.
A review of camera footage from Oct. 9 showed a bruise above Courtney Patterson’s left eye. When questioned, the affidavit said she told police she didn’t know she had an injury and that she didn’t know how she got it.
The affidavit said deputies also asked about a broken window, which Courtney Patterson said was broken by a thrown bowl months earlier. The Pattersons’ daughter said her father damaged the window as well as the doors. She then stated the injury to her mother’s head was caused by her father, according to the affidavit, and Courtney Patterson did not contradict those statements at the time.
When interviewed about the incident at school, the Pattersons’ daughter told investigators that there was a history of domestic issues between her parents and provided detectives with audio recordings of previous arguments as well as a recording of the incident from Oct. 9.
On the recording, a male voice and a female voice — believed to be Richard Patterson and Courtney Patterson, respectively — can be heard arguing. Courtney appears to be crying in the recording, according to the affidavit, while Richard Patterson yells at her to look at him. The affidavit said the argument on the recording “seemed consistent with someone being assaulted.”
On Oct. 20, the office placed Patterson, 46, on administrative
leave with pay pending the outcome of a criminal investigation and an internal investigation.
The Pattersons’ eldest daughter was also interviewed in relation to the incident. Though she said she was out of town on Oct. 9, she stated that her sister and her mother told her about it. According to the affidavit, her mother told her she suffered the injury above her eye when Richard Patterson head-butted her, the court document stated.
Patterson turned himself in Monday at the Silverdale Detention Center after detectives obtained a warrant for his arrest.
Officials with the sheriff’s office said they could not provide further information about the incident as the investigation into what occurred is ongoing.