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LOGAN — A former Smithfield police officer was sentenced last week in connection with a domestic violence dispute in which he injured a woman's neck, arms and wrists.
Richard Edwards Petersen, 31, was sentenced on June 29 to 60 days in jail but given credit for 45 days already served, Cache Valley Daily reported. Petersen was employed by Smithfield police and Chief Travis Allen confirmed he was dismissed in December 2021.
Court records filed in Utah's 1st District Court show Petersen pleaded guilty to reduced counts of aggravated assault and violating a protective order, class A misdemeanors; and domestic violence in the presence of a child, a class B misdemeanor.
Police responded on Dec. 26, 2021, to a report of an in-progress physical dispute. An officer met with the victim, who had swelling, bruising and abrasions on her neck, arms and wrists, according to a police booking affidavit. Three children were in the home when the assault occurred.
The woman told police that she and Petersen had been arguing over a cellphone. When she tried leaving the room with it, he tackled her to the ground, placing one arm on her neck and another on her chest, the affidavit states. She said he increased the pressure when she cried out for help.
The woman estimated that Petersen choked her for 30 to 60 seconds. She told police that her airway had been almost completely blocked and described having tunnel vision and pressure in her ears, according to the court records.
Petersen let her go when he obtained the cellphone. The woman told police she then ran upstairs, gathered the three children and drove away from the home.
She was assessed at Logan Regional Hospital, where doctors found she had bruising and a sprained left wrist.
The victim "appeared to be extremely psychologically traumatized as she showed uncontrollable crying, tremors, time distortions with her memory of the incident and limited short term memory retention," the affidavit states. "All of these symptoms were indicative of an extremely physically and mentally destructive event compounded by her pre-existing PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder) ..."
Petersen posted $5,000 bail on Dec. 28, 2021. Court records also show he was charged on Jan. 2, 2022, with violation of a protective order, a class A misdemeanor. Petersen admitted to emailing the victim despite the stipulation of his jail release agreement that he should have no direct or indirect contact with her.
Petersen was arrested again on May 17 and charged with stalking, a third-degree felony, and violating a protective order, enhanced to a third-degree felony because the order had already been broken once.
During a supervised visitation, Petersen gave a child a bouquet of flowers and a picture frame to pass on to the victim, an affidavit states. Police requested he be held without bail.
In exchange for his guilty pleas, two charges for domestic violence in the presence of a child were dropped. Additionally, a stalking charge and one of the two protective order violation charges were dismissed.
