GRANGER, Wash. — Newly released police records are providing additional details surrounding the arrest of Sunnyside City Council member Keren Vazquez, including an officer’s account that he personally witnessed part of the confrontation that led to her arrest on suspicion of fourth-degree assault with domestic violence.

Vazquez was arrested July 31 following an incident near a park in the 200 block of East A Street in Granger.

According to the Granger Police Department report, an officer was patrolling the area at approximately 4:57 p.m. when he observed a man and woman engaged in what he described as a struggle near the driver’s side of a white sedan.

The officer wrote that he observed the woman, later identified as Vazquez, “half-push” the man out of the way, close the vehicle door and drive away. The officer turned around and contacted the man while requesting another officer stop the vehicle. 26G0710_Redacted.pdf

Police said they noticed what the report describes as “very fresh scratch marks” on the man’s face.

However, both the man and Vazquez told officers the scratches were not caused by their confrontation. According to the police report, both said the scratches were sustained while working in the fields. 26G0710_Redacted.pdf

The man’s name and other identifying information were redacted from the publicly released police report.

The report also reveals that police initially were unclear about the relationship between Vazquez and the man.

The investigating officer wrote that based on his initial observations, he believed Vazquez might be the man’s mother. After further questioning, however, the man told police the two had been “talking” for approximately five to six months and had been intimate with each other. Police said the man referred to Vazquez as his “boyfriend” of five to six months, while another officer reported Vazquez said the two had been dating for approximately five months. Officers determined the relationship met the criteria for a domestic relationship. 26G0710_Redacted.pdf

According to the report, the man initially provided officers with little information and repeatedly maintained that nothing had happened.

After additional questioning, the man reportedly told police the two had been arguing over a disagreement and Vazquez was trying to get him to leave the vehicle. He said Vazquez pushed him, but told officers he did not believe she intended to hurt him.

The man also told police Vazquez did not hit him or otherwise put her hands on him during the altercation, according to the report.

Police nevertheless determined there was probable cause to arrest Vazquez based on the circumstances and the officer’s observations.

When the officer informed the man that Vazquez was going to be arrested, the report says he appeared “very confused” and maintained that Vazquez had not hurt him.

According to the officer, the man said “she only pushed him to leave the vehicle.” 26G0710_Redacted.pdf

A second Granger police officer provided additional details about his interaction with Vazquez.

That officer reported stopping Vazquez’s vehicle after being told another officer had observed what appeared to be an assault.

Vazquez reportedly told the officer she and the man had been dating for approximately five months and had been arguing back and forth since the previous day.

The officer wrote that Vazquez said the injuries to the man’s face were from work. But during the conversation, police said Vazquez also acknowledged “just pushing him.” 26G0710_Redacted.pdf

Vazquez was placed in handcuffs and taken into custody.

According to the primary investigating officer, Granger Municipal Court Judge Douglas Garrison was contacted by telephone at approximately 5:31 p.m. to determine whether probable cause existed to book Vazquez.

The report says Garrison found probable cause for fourth-degree assault with domestic violence and requested that his name be placed on a telephone no-contact order.

Police said Vazquez continued discussing the situation after she was taken to the Granger Police Department. The officer specifically noted that Vazquez made the statements without being asked what he characterized as leading or incriminating questions.

According to the report, Vazquez said she and the man had been having problems for the previous couple of days and that she knew she “shouldn’t have come to see him today.”

Vazquez reportedly told police the two had gotten into an argument before officers arrived and that the man had asked her to take him to the park on East A Street, where police ultimately witnessed the confrontation. 26G0710_Redacted.pdf

Vazquez was booked into the Yakima County Jail.

Vazquez Pleads Not Guilty

Vazquez appeared Wednesday, Aug. 5, in Granger Municipal Court, where she entered a not guilty plea to fourth-degree assault with domestic violence.

During the hearing, Judge Garrison explained the potential consequences of the charge.

“Miss Vasquez, you are charged with assault in the fourth degree with domestic violence, which is a gross misdemeanor, punishable by up to 364 days of jail and a $5,000 fine,” Garrison said.

Through her attorney, Vazquez waived a formal reading of the charge and pleaded not guilty.

Garrison found probable cause for the case to move forward and allowed Vazquez to remain free on the bail she had already posted, subject to several conditions.

Those conditions include committing no new criminal law violations, notifying the court of any change of address, attending all court hearings, remaining in contact with her attorney and complying with a pretrial no-contact order.

Vazquez’s next court appearance is scheduled for Sept. 16.

The newly released police report provides considerably more detail about what officers say led to Vazquez’s arrest, but it also documents the alleged victim’s statements that Vazquez did not hurt him and that the scratches police observed on his face came from working in the fields.

Vazquez has pleaded not guilty. The charge remains an allegation, and she is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in court.