A decorated Rogers police sergeant has been suspended from duty following his arrest Saturday in connection with a domestic disturbance in Lincoln.
Sgt. Jesse Ray, a 15-year veteran of the Rogers Police Department, was arrested on preliminary charges of felony first-degree terroristic threatening and aggravated assault on a family member. Ray, 39, of Pea Ridge, was released from the Washington County Detention Center on $5,000 bond Sunday.
Several witnesses reported a fight between Ray and his wife, Patricia Ray, during a family celebration Friday at 12950 N. Jackson Highway in Lincoln, according to a preliminary arrest report from the Washington County Sheriff’s Office.
Patricia Ray came out of her sister’s house after washing dishes and found her husband upset about something. She told police she and her husband got into an argument and she retrieved her and her children’s belongings from a car, before asking to speak to Jesse Ray privately, according to the report.
Patricia Ray said her husband called her a liar and a cheater and got “up in her face, pushing on her and forcefully pulling her against him.” She hit Jesse Ray, at which point he grabbed her by the neck, choked her and threatened to kill her, according to the report.
Patricia Ray told police she ran into the house, and her husband later left the property. He was arrested the next day.
Keith Foster, a spokesman for the Rogers Police Department, said Monday that Jesse Ray was suspended with pay pending an internal investigation, action he said is standard policy for any officer charged with a crime.
In 2010, Jesse Ray received the department’s Medal of Valor, its highest award, for his role in a fatal shooting the year before. Ray shot and killed Matthew Dague, a man who reportedly shot at another Rogers police officer after a traffic stop in October 2009.
The Arkansas Association of Chiefs of Police named Ray the 2010 Officer of the Year for his role in the shooting.
Rogers Police Chief James Allen said in an emailed statement Monday he was heartbroken upon hearing about Friday’s disturbance.
Allen said Ray has done an “outstanding job with the department.” He said he was not aware of any similar incidents involving the sergeant.