GRANGER, Wash. — Newly obtained police audio from the July 31 arrest of Sunnyside City Councilmember Keren Vazquez reveals Granger police officers initially believed she was the mother of the young man involved in the confrontation — before learning the two had been involved in an intimate relationship for roughly five or six months.
The incident happened in Granger, a small Yakima Valley community just outside Sunnyside, where Vazquez serves as an elected city councilmember.
The recordings, reviewed by La Voz Hispanic News, provide a much fuller account of the confrontation that led Granger police to arrest Vazquez on suspicion of fourth-degree assault involving domestic violence.
They capture an officer saying he personally witnessed Vazquez push the man near a vehicle. They also capture Vazquez acknowledging that she had been pushing him while trying to get him out of her vehicle, while repeatedly denying that she assaulted or injured him.
The young man, meanwhile, acknowledged that Vazquez pushed him but repeatedly told Granger police she had not hurt him. He also appeared reluctant to provide information against Vazquez and later described her as a “good person.”
Early in her interaction with police, Vazquez also made officers aware of her elected position.
SOUND BITE — VAZQUEZ:
“My name is Keren Vazquez. I’m actually a city council member…”
Police continued their investigation, interviewing Vazquez and the young man separately.
But before Granger police understood the nature of the confrontation, they first had to determine something much more basic: Who was Vazquez to the young man?
Granger officer initially asks if Vazquez is his mother
The apparent age difference between the two immediately caught the attention of the Granger police officer who first contacted the man.
Vazquez was born September 25, 1997, making her 28 at the time of the July 31 incident.
The officer, apparently perceiving Vazquez as significantly older than the man, repeatedly asks whether she is his mother.
SOUND BITE — GRANGER POLICE OFFICER:
“Is that your mom? Who is that?”
When the man does not immediately explain their relationship, the officer asks again.
SOUND BITE — GRANGER POLICE OFFICER:
“Is that your mom or she looks, like, older?”
And again:
SOUND BITE — GRANGER POLICE OFFICER:
“Is that your mom?”
The man eventually tells the officer Vazquez is not his mother.
The Granger officer then tries to determine whether they are dating.
SOUND BITE — GRANGER POLICE OFFICER:
“You guys in a relationship? Your girlfriend?”
The man appears hesitant to characterize the relationship and initially refers to Vazquez as someone he had been “talking” to.
Under continued questioning, however, he tells the officer they had been talking for approximately five or six months and acknowledges the two had been intimate.
Vazquez would later give Granger police a more definitive description of the relationship.
SOUND BITE — GRANGER POLICE OFFICER:
“What is your relationship with this gentleman?”
VAZQUEZ:
“My boyfriend.”
Officer says he saw Vazquez push him
The relationship became legally significant because the Granger officer says he had already witnessed physical contact between the two.
Throughout his interview with the man, the officer repeatedly says he personally saw Vazquez push him near the vehicle.
SOUND BITE — GRANGER POLICE OFFICER:
“Right now, it’s the best thing to do is to be honest, ’cause I literally just seen you guys.”
The man initially appears reluctant to discuss the confrontation.
But the officer tells him denying what happened would not change what he had witnessed.
SOUND BITE — GRANGER POLICE OFFICER:
“Because I’ve already seen her push you out of the car, bro.”
Eventually, the man acknowledges that Vazquez pushed him.
SOUND BITE — GRANGER POLICE OFFICER:
“She pushed you first out?”
MAN:
“Yeah, yeah.”
The officer asks whether the man had struck or touched Vazquez before she pushed him.
SOUND BITE — GRANGER POLICE OFFICER:
“And you didn’t, like, hit her or touch her before that?”
MAN:
“No, no, no. I don’t.”
The Granger officer later summarizes his observations to another officer.
SOUND BITE — GRANGER POLICE OFFICER:
“When we were coming in the area, I saw them arguing. I saw her pushing him out of the car, and then she took off.”
Vazquez says she wanted him out of her vehicle
While one Granger officer interviewed the man, other officers questioned Vazquez about what had happened.
Vazquez said the two had been arguing and that she wanted him to leave her alone.
She told police she lived in Sunnyside while he lived in Granger and said she had been attempting to give him a ride.
According to Vazquez, she first took him to a house, but he did not want to get out. She said he then asked to be taken to a park because he liked playing basketball.
Vazquez said she drove him there, but he again refused to leave her vehicle.
During that explanation, Vazquez acknowledged pushing him while trying to get him out.
SOUND BITE — VAZQUEZ:
“I’ve been just pushing him, like, ‘Stop, like, get out of the car.’”
Vazquez nevertheless denied assaulting or injuring him.
She also told Granger police the man had threatened to continue bothering her. According to Vazquez’s account on the recording, he told her:
SOUND BITE — VAZQUEZ RECOUNTING STATEMENT:
“Watch me, I’m going to make your life hell. I’m not gonna leave you alone ever.”
The recording does not independently establish whether that statement was made.
Police question scratches on man’s face
Granger police also noticed multiple scratches on the man’s face.
The marks immediately became part of the investigation, with an officer questioning whether they resulted from the confrontation.
The man repeatedly denied Vazquez caused them.
He said the scratches came from working in the fields and had occurred the previous day.
The Granger officer expressed skepticism because of how the marks appeared.
SOUND BITE — GRANGER POLICE OFFICER:
“That looks fresh, bro.”
The man maintained his explanation and indicated he had photographs that could show the injuries existed earlier.
Vazquez also denied causing the scratches.
SOUND BITE — GRANGER POLICE OFFICER:
“Why does he have scratches all over his face? What’s going on with that?”
VAZQUEZ:
“I don’t know.”
The audio does not establish that Vazquez caused the facial scratches.
Man repeatedly tells police Vazquez did not hurt him
Perhaps one of the most notable portions of the recording comes as the young man realizes Granger police intend to arrest Vazquez.
Despite acknowledging that Vazquez pushed him, he repeatedly minimizes the encounter.
SOUND BITE — MAN:
“She didn’t, like, hurt me.”
The officer explains that police are considering the incident a domestic-violence matter because the two had been intimate and had an ongoing relationship.
When the man questions why Vazquez is going to jail, the officer points back to what he says he witnessed.
SOUND BITE — GRANGER POLICE OFFICER:
“She pushed you, bro. That’s how it is.”
The man again tries to explain that Vazquez was not trying to hurt him.
The officer responds:
SOUND BITE — GRANGER POLICE OFFICER:
“I know. I know she’s not trying to hurt you or anything like that.”
The young man later describes Vazquez positively.
SOUND BITE — MAN:
“She’s like a good person.”
Granger police also asked the man whether he wanted to provide a written statement about what happened. The recording shows the officer explaining that providing the statement was optional.
The man did not sign or provide the domestic-violence statement to police.
Vazquez begins crying as police arrest her
Granger police eventually informed Vazquez that she was being arrested on suspicion of fourth-degree assault involving domestic violence.
SOUND BITE — GRANGER POLICE OFFICER:
“All right, Keren, I’m gonna have you sit on the car, okay? You’re gonna be under arrest for assault for domestic violence.”
Vazquez immediately disputed the decision.
SOUND BITE — VAZQUEZ:
“I didn’t even touch him.”
A Granger officer responded that another officer had witnessed the physical contact.
SOUND BITE — GRANGER POLICE OFFICER:
“The officer saw you touch him.”
As the reality of the arrest sets in, Vazquez can be heard crying heavily on the recording while continuing to insist she had done nothing wrong.
SOUND BITE — VAZQUEZ:
“I didn’t do anything.”
Officers attempted to calm Vazquez as they placed her in handcuffs and prepared to transport her.
SOUND BITE — GRANGER POLICE OFFICER:
“I understand your frustration. It’s not as bad as you think, okay?”
Vazquez continued crying as an officer explained the seriousness with which Washington law treats domestic-violence allegations.
SOUND BITE — GRANGER POLICE OFFICER:
“Washington State law is very strict on DV, okay? So just relax. Okay? It’s not the end of the world. Trust me.”
Police collected Vazquez’s belongings, located the keys to her vehicle and secured it before leaving the scene.
Still handcuffed, Vazquez was then placed into a Granger police vehicle for transport.
The officer reminded her that the criminal case would ultimately be addressed in court.
SOUND BITE — GRANGER POLICE OFFICER:
“Like you said, this is your day in court. We have, you know, you got injuries. He says a different story. The officer saw something. So, like I said, that’s kind of where we’re at.”
Recordings provide fuller picture of arrest
Taken together, the recordings provide three perspectives on the confrontation.
A Granger police officer says he personally witnessed Vazquez push the young man while the two were struggling near her vehicle.
Vazquez acknowledges pushing him while trying to get him out of the vehicle but denies assaulting or injuring him.
The young man acknowledges that Vazquez pushed him but repeatedly insists she did not hurt him, denies that she caused the scratches on his face and appears concerned when he learns she will be taken to jail.
The recordings also reveal the unusual way the investigation began: before officers knew Vazquez and the man had an intimate relationship, a Granger police officer repeatedly asked whether Vazquez was his mother.
The man eventually told police they had been “talking” for roughly five or six months and had been intimate. Vazquez described him more directly as her boyfriend.
Vazquez pleads not guilty
Granger police arrested Vazquez on July 31 and she was subsequently booked into the Yakima County Jail.
Vazquez later appeared in Granger Municipal Court and pleaded not guilty to fourth-degree assault involving domestic violence.
During her initial court appearance, Judge Douglas K. Garrison advised Vazquez that the gross misdemeanor charge carries a maximum potential penalty of 364 days in jail and a $5,000 fine. The court also addressed conditions associated with the case, including restrictions on contact.
The recordings provide additional context surrounding the arrest, but they do not determine whether Vazquez committed a crime.
That determination remains with the court.
Vazquez has pleaded not guilty and is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
