Man arrested after allegedly assaulting multiple women

Brian Eugene Patterson | Bonneville County Jail
IDAHO FALLS – A 55-year-old man was arrested on Sunday after multiple women reported to police he had physically assaulted them.
Brian Eugene Patterson was charged with felony domestic battery and two counts of misdemeanor battery on April 3.
Police reports show officers arrived at a home in Idaho Falls after calls about a domestic disturbance that had led to a physical altercation.
When officers stepped out of the police car, an older woman and two younger women began running toward them. The older woman immediately hugged one of the officers.
Police noted the older woman was not wearing shoes and “wasn’t dressed appropriately for the cold weather.” They also saw that she had blood running down her nose.
The two younger women told officers that the older woman, and a man inside the home, identified as Patterson, are completely deaf, and that Patterson had been drinking and attacked the older woman.
The two younger women tried to step in, and they were reportedly also attacked.
Officers noted in the police report one of the younger women had “an abrasion on the bridge of her nose, redness on her left cheek, and redness and a scratch mark on her right upper arm.
All three women reportedly had redness and scratch marks on their neck/chest areas.
The younger women also told police that Patterson had access to firearms downstairs inside the home where he was located.
Officers went into the home and tried to make contact with Patterson who requested a sign language interpreter. The officers called the police department and were told one is not available.
Police asked the two younger girls to translate, but Patterson “did not want them to,” according to court documents.
According to IFPD spokesperson Jessica Clements, the police department does not have a designated sign-language interpreter, although there are a few officers and staff members that speak varying levels of sign language.
“The Idaho Falls Police Department does employ a significant number of police officers, emergency communications officers, and other employees who speak a variety of second languages, including a couple who speak sign language,” says Clements. “In an ideal world, there would be a certified interpreter for the deaf available for these scenarios but that is not a resource we currently have.”
Although the police department does have staff that speak sign language, none of them are certified interpreters, which is one of the requirements to work in a law enforcement setting.
Based on information from the Idaho Council for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, there are only four certified sign language interpreters in Idaho Falls. None of them have the correct licenses or training to work professionally with law enforcement.
Officers then tried to communicate with him on a notepad by having him read his Miranda rights, but Patterson reportedly got agitated and “frustrated that the police department didn’t have an interpreter for him.”
Officers asked Patterson what happened with the women by writing on the piece of paper, but all he told them was that he was “in a fight with (the victims) and that he wanted an interpreter,” according to the police report.
Eventually, Patterson “made motions” that he was finished communicating with the officers and asked them to leave.
Police noted Patterson had “blood running down the side of his face near his eye” and “several lacerations on his forearm that were approximately six inches in length.”
Patterson also had a “laceration on his left shoulder near the bottom of his neck that was approximately two inches in length.”
Based on the injuries to the women, officers arrested Patterson and transported him to Bonneville County Jail. All three women reported concern for Patterson in jail and told officers they were worried he would not receive the proper assistance he needs to understand things without a sign language interpreter.
He appeared in court on Sunday and is expected to appear for a preliminary hearing on April 14.
A bond has not been set.
If convicted, Patterson could face up to 11 years in prison.
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Source: eastidahonews.com