Man Assaults Woman, Chokes Her Until She Passes Out After Blaming Her for Being Late to Work: Middletown Police

MIDDLETOWN, CT — A Middletown man is accused of assaulting his off-and-on girlfriend, including strangling her to the point that she momentarily passed out, after he allegedly became enraged for oversleeping and blamed her for him being late to work, according to police.

Brandon Cooper, 27, of Main Street, was taken into custody by Cromwell Police as he was attempting to leave the Cromwell restaurant he works, even though he had just arrived, after learning that Middletown Police were looking for him, according to the police report.

Middletown Police responded to a city address at about 7:45 p.m. on Sept. 18 for the reported domestic dispute. The victim told police that Cooper had a history of assaulting her during the course of their off-and-on 12-year relationship.

Cooper is a convicted felon with multiple past domestic violence convictions on charges such as third-degree assault, violation of a protective order, probation violation and failure to appear, according to police.

The victim told police that over the course of their relationship, Cooper has assaulted her, threatened her, intimidated her and has stabbed her in the back and slashed her face with a knife. She also said that she currently didn’t have a protective order against Cooper and that she has protected him in the past and lied about how she was injured out of fear of what he might do if she filed complaints against him, according to the police report.

They had been trying to get back together over the past several months and spending time at his Middletown apartment, but she again ended the relationship on Aug. 25 after saying Cooper hadn’t changed and began becoming physical with her again, according to the report.

She eventually gave him another chance and they stayed together at Cooper’s apartment for three days and she let him use her vehicle to travel back and forth from the restaurant he worked at in Cromwell.

Then on Sept. 18, the two had been taking a nap at his apartment and she believed he had to be at work at 6 p.m. or 7 p.m. but they woke up late.

She told police that Cooper was “extremely upset because he was going to be late for work and he began to yell at her as he gathered his belongings and got ready for work,” according to the police report.

The victim told Cooper it wasn’t her fault they overslept and he became enraged and is accused of pushing her and punching her in the head with a closed fist, as well as slapping her with an open fist, according to the report.

The victim also said Cooper accused her of taking his “blunt” and became more enraged believing she stole it from him. He is accused of then throwing a plastic shower caddy at her, attacking her, pulling her hair and grabbing her around the neck, while punching her in the head and face, and choking her to the point she momentarily passed out, according to the police report. Prior to passing out, the victim told police she had tried to get out of the apartment but Cooper kept a grip on her neck and she was unable to leave.

After regaining consciousness, the victim told police Cooper was standing next to her on the floor kneeing her in the ribs and then struck her several times in the ribs before finally stopping. She told police she believed her ribs were broken.

Cooper then left in her vehicle to go to work.

The victim was transported to Middlesex Hospital via ambulance and treated for her injuries, but declined to provide a written statement regarding the incident out of fear of Cooper, according to police.

After being taken into custody in Cromwell, Cooper was transported to Middletown Police Headquarters where he denied assaulting the victim and told police that he didn’t know how she got beat up but that maybe she had “gone somewhere after he left for work and was assaulted there,” police wrote in the report.

Cooper was arrested on charges of second-degree assault, second-degree strangulation and first-degree unlawful restraint. He was held on a $75,000 surety bond and was scheduled to appear in court on Sept. 19.

Image via Shutterstock

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