Missouri deputy Jeremy Lynn admits he caused physical contact with my wife, Carol -- not the other way around -- meaning she is innocent of assault

Deputy Jeremy Lynn

The Missouri deputy my wife, Carol, allegedly assaulted during an eviction in September 2015 admits in his incident report that he initiated contact with Carol, not the other way around. Officer Jeremy Lynn, in his own words, reveals that Carol did not commit "Assault of a Law Enforcement Officer, Third Degree." as described by Missouri law.

This is significant for several reasons:

(1) The charge involving Jeremy Lynn is the only one remaining against Carol, but since Lynn admits Carol did not cause physical contact with him, the charge must be dropped and the case closed.

(2) Lynn's statement suggests Officer Debi Wade provided false information in her Probable Cause (PC) Statement when she claimed an unknown individual "advised" her that Carol pushed Lynn repeatedly. Lynn himself does not say Carol pushed him, repeatedly or at all, so one or more officers on the scene appear to be lying.

(3) As often happens when fabrications are in play, the liars can't keep their stories straight. Debi Wade claims Carol pushed Jeremy Lynn; Lynn says that did not happen. Oops!

It's undisputed there was contact between Carol and Jeremy Lynn. Carol says she was thrown face-first against a wall (possibly hard enough to cause a concussion) when Lynn burst through the front door of our rented duplex apartment. Lynn grabbed her arms from behind and someone (probably Lynn) slammed her head against the wall several more times while she was being placed in handcuffs.

Here is the key question under Missouri law: Did Carol "knowingly cause physical contact" with Jeremy Lynn?

Specifics can be found under Count 1 of the Misdemeanor Information (MI) filed against Carol by Greene County Prosecuting Attorney Dan Patterson. (The MI and related documents are embedded at the end of this post.) Count 1 reads, in relevant part:

The Prosecuting Attorney of the County of Greene, State of Missouri, charges that the defendant, in violation of Section 565.083, RSMo, committed the class A misdemeanor of assault of a law enforcement officer in the third degree . . . in that on September 9, 2015, in the County of Greene, State of Missouri, the defendant knowingly caused physical contact with Jeremy Lynn, a law enforcement officer, without the consent of Jeremy Lynn, by pushing him.

Did that really happen? Let's consider a key section of Officer Lynn's statement from the incident report. (The report and related documents are embedded at the end of this post.) Lynn describes using a key to open the door and seeing me sitting calmly in a chair. He then states the following:

There was a female, however, that had been trying to force the door closed and she was standing just behind the door and trying again to force it closed. She was very aggressive and fighting against the door. She was grabbed by her arms and restrained to stop her from harming one of us or herself. During this process she was pulling her arms away from me and tried to push me back with her arms and body. She was told to calm down repeatedly and ignored those commands. She was eventually handcuffed and taken outside.

What do we learn here?

(1) Lynn says he grabbed Carol by the arms -- he caused physical contact with her.

(2) Lynn says Carol was trying to pull away from him; she didn't "get physical" with him or "push him repeatedly," as Debi Wade claims. Lynn grabbed Carol, and she tried to pull away.

(3) Lynn then claims Carol "tried to push [him] back with arms and body." This is pure nonsense. Lynn already has stated Carol pulled away, and now he's claiming she "tried" to push him. How can one pull and push at the same time? Those are contradictory terms, and indicate Lynn's whole statement is rubbish.

For the record, Lynn claims Carol "tried" to push him, but he never says that she did push him. Under the law, the "push" issue is irrelevant. Missouri law clearly frames the question: Who caused contact with whom, against whose will?

Jeremy Lynn admits that he grabbed Carol, that he caused physical contact, not the other way around.

It could not be more clear that this is a baseless charge. Jeremy Lynn, the supposed "victim," essentially admits that. So, why does Carol still have this joke of a criminal case hanging over her head? Why does she still have a court appearance on Sept. 20? Why did PA Dan Patterson bring these charges in the first place?

We will address those and other questions in upcoming posts. But for now, we know this for sure: Carol Tovich Shuler did not "assault" a law enforcement officer. The officer in question, Jeremy Lynn, admits she didn't/