Gallup Police Department Officer Valerie Wilson resigned from the Gallup Police Department this past week. She was placed on paid administrative leave for allegedly beating her girlfriend Jan. 10.
“She resigned prior to the conclusion of the internal affairs investigation,” GPD Lt. Rosanne Morrissette said.
In January, GPD Capt. Rick White said Wilson was placed on paid administrative leave, pending the outcome of an investigation.
According to GPD Officer Dominic Molina’s report, the couple got into an altercation at Fire Rock Casino. Wilson reportedly knocked a drink out of her girlfriend’s hand and drove off and left her stranded at the casino.
The woman got a ride back to the home that the two women shared, and that’s where the fight resumed. At first some hair was pulled, but then it turned brutal when Wilson allegedly punched her girlfriend in the nose and hit her in the ribs and abdomen with her knee.
But, Wilson told a different story, claiming that her girlfriend was the aggressor and lunged at her first. Molina noted in the report that Wilson had redness to the left side of her face, saying that’s where her girlfriend punched her.
After speaking to both women, Molina stated in his report that he “came to the conclusion of Valerie Wilson as the primary aggressor in the matter.”
Wilson was arrested for battery against a household member. White said as with any domestic violence case, it’s referred to the District Attorney’s office for prosecution.
Meanwhile, a source said that Wilson’s case has been referred to the Farmington District Attorney’s office. New Mexico Courts.com confirmed that two Magistrate Court judges recused themselves from hearing the case.
Judges often will recuse themselves when they believe there may be a perceived conflict of interest in them hearing a case.
By Babette Herrmann
Sun Editor
