Midland police officer Guadalupe Bretado smelled of alcohol after his wife was assaulted last week, according to court documents.
Bretado is a 16-year veteran of the Midland Police Department. He remained on administrative leave as of Tuesday.
On Tuesday, YourBasin.com reported the contents of an affidavit in court records. Bretado was arrested on a misdemeanor charge of family violence according to officials.
An affidavit said that Bretado’s wife ran screaming from her apartment in the 3700 block of Edwards Street yelling that her “husband beat her up.”
Once police arrived, they found Mr. Bretado sitting on the couch inside the apartment with a strong odor of alcohol on his breath. According to the affidavit, officers also noticed “many empty cans” of beer in the kitchen trash can.
Bretado admitted to officers that he and his wife began arguing over his drinking habit and she became verbally abusive toward him, according to the affidavit.
Bretado claimed that his wife’s abuse then turned physical. He told officers that his wife started hitting him in the back of the head as he tried to go to the bedroom and he “swatted” back just before she ran off screaming.
Bretado’s wife had a different story. She told officers Bretado “pulled [her] down by [her] hair onto the couch and hit [her] in the face.”
Officers also noticed “swelling and redness” on the side of Mrs. Bretado’s face.
Bretado was booked into the Midland County Jail and bonded out of jail over the weekend.
(Information from yourbasin.com)
