Sarah Palin's son Track charged with domestic violence
NEW YORK -- Track Palin, the son of former vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin, was arrested Monday and charged with with domestic violence and other counts, according to the Wasilla, Alaska police department.
Police said in a statement released Tuesday that officers were called to a residence in Wasilla for a disturbance report at about 10 p.m. Monday, where they encountered Track Palin.
"An investigation revealed Track Palin had committed a domestic violence assault on a female, interfered with her ability to report a crime of domestic violence, and possessed a firearm while intoxicated," police said in the statement.
The girlfriend told authorities she was punched in the face by Palin, who is the oldest child of Sarah Palin, the 2008 Republican vice presidential nominee and conservative leader.
There is no telephone listing for the girlfriend. The court documents say the woman, Palin's girlfriend of one year, had bruising and swelling around her left eye, and she said her right knee hurt after Palin kicked her there
Palin family attorney John Tiemessen declined to comment on the matter other than to say in an email that respect for the family's privacy is appreciated "as Track receives the help that he and many of our returning veterans need." Palin's arraignment was held Tuesday, but Tiemessen was not sure if he entered a plea yet.
He faces three misdemeanor counts for assault, misconduct with a weapon -- in this case for allegedly possessing the gun while intoxicated -- and interfering with a report of domestic violence.
Palin enlisted in the Army on the sixth anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks and spent a year deployed in Iraq. When his mother was the GOP vice-presidential candidate in 2008, she spoke at her son's deployment ceremony in Fairbanks, one of the few trips back to Alaska while on the campaign trail that fall.
According to the three-page affidavit, both Palin and his girlfriend called 911 that night. Police Officer Andrew Kappler wrote that he arrived at the Wasilla home and found Palin walking outside and talking on a phone. The officer said Palin had an injury to his right eye and surrounding area, smelled strongly of alcohol and acted with escalating hostility, prompting Kappler to put him in handcuffs.
Police say a breath sample provided by Palin showed he had a blood alcohol level of 0.189.
The affidavit says other officers found the girlfriend hiding under a bed inside the home and crying.
The argument continued at the home, according to the affidavit, which says Palin struck the woman with his fist on the left side of her head near her eye. She curled up in the fetal position because she didn't know what else he would do, the woman told police. She said he then kicked her in the knee and threw her phone across the driveway, according to the court document. The woman said she went inside after getting her phone.
Inside, Palin held the rifle, with the barrel just away from his face pointed to the side, the affidavit states. The affidavit adds that the woman told police Palin was yelling "Do you think I won't do it?"
The girlfriend "was concerned that he would shoot himself and ran outside and around the house," the affidavit says. "She didn't see where Palin went, so she went inside and up the stairs, where she hid under a bed."
It's not the first encounter with the law for Palin or other members of his family. In September 2014, he and other Palins were involved in a brawl that broke out at a party in Anchorage. No arrests were made in the melee, and no one wanted to press charges. But according to a police report, Palin had blood around his mouth and his hands. He was belligerent until his mother told him to talk to a police officer.