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Utah County deputy feeds child while on domestic violence case

Posted at 6:10 PM, Aug 01, 2016
and last updated 2016-08-01 20:13:48-04

UTAH COUNTY, Utah — A Utah County deputy took on multiple responsibilities while responding to a domestic violence case.

On July 23, just after 7 p.m., Deputy Justin Gordon was called to a report of an assault in Payson Canyon.

Police said a woman, her husband and two children were at a family outing in the canyon when the woman became intoxicated, belligerent and angry. The husband and wife left the event with their 2-year-old and 2-month-old sons.

While driving down the canyon, the woman assaulted her husband, authorities said. Her husband reported that the woman had attempted to get out of the car while it was still moving and that’s when he stopped to call police.

As part of the investigation, the man and woman were instructed to fill out written statements about the incident. That’s when Deputy Gordon took on the responsibility of holding the woman’s 2-month-old son and fed him from a bottle.

The Utah County Sheriff’s Department said deputies have the important responsibility to protect any further risk to victims. The law requires that the primary aggressor in any domestic violence case be arrested or cited.

Taking into consideration that the woman is also a nursing mother, Deputy Gordon drove her from Payson Canyon, in the south end of Utah County, to a business in the north end of Utah County, where she could be released to other family members.

According to a news release from the Utah County Sheriff’s Officer, Deputy Gordon could have taken the woman to jail and he was not required to feed the child or make arrangements for the woman to be released.