Relatives of a Metropolitan Police Department officer arrested Sunday told investigators he was intoxicated, grabbed his wife by the throat and pushed his sister while she was holding her infant daughter on the Fourth of July, according to an arrest report released Wednesday.
Officer Jerry Wheeler Jr., 32, was booked into the Clark County Detention Center on suspicion of misdemeanor domestic battery shortly after midnight Sunday after a 911 caller said that Wheeler had battered her sister, Wheeler’s arrest report said. Online court records show Wheeler faces charges including domestic battery, battery and child abuse or neglect.
The report describes the alleged battery occurring at the home of Wheeler’s in-laws. According to the report, Wheeler argued with his sister before his wife tried to intervene.
The officer pushed his wife, who fell to the ground, the report stated.
“Responding patrol officers interviewed several independent witnesses present during the physical altercation, all of whom corroborated” Wheeler’s wife’s account of the incident.
Wheeler’s son told police that Wheeler drank tequila throughout the night, according to the arrest report. Another witness said most people at the gathering were intoxicated.
Wheeler declined to speak with investigators, according to the report.
Report: Wheeler grabbed wife by throat, ‘forcefully’ threw her down
Wheeler’s wife told police she, Wheeler and their two kids were at her parents’ house to celebrate Independence Day and that, at some point during the evening, her husband and another guest were “engaged in a playful” wrestling match, according to Wheeler’s arrest report.
“Jerry became overly aggressive and serious during the match, prompting family members to intervene and instruct him to stop because the behavior was escalating out of control,” the report said. “Jerry became irate and stormed out of the residence.”
Police said Wheeler’s wife followed him outside and saw him get into the family’s Kia Soul parked in the driveway before she tried to stop him from driving away. Family members eventually took the vehicle’s keys, and Wheeler walked back toward the residence, according to his arrest report.
Wheeler’s wife told police he re-entered the home and pushed his sister while she was holding her daughter, according to the report. Police said Wheeler’s wife noted her sister did not stumble or fall.
Police said Wheeler’s wife confronted him and that Wheeler followed behind her toward the garage.
“Realizing he was pursuing her,” the report said of Wheeler’s wife, she “attempted to slam the garage door in Jerry’s face to lock him out. Jerry forced the door open, entered the garage, and immediately pushed” her.
The report continued: “He grabbed her by the throat with one hand and forcefully threw her down, causing her to strike the ground.”
Wheeler’s wife told investigators other family members entered the garage and separated them by pinning Wheeler against a refrigerator. She also told investigators Wheeler did not strangle her or apply sustained pressure to her neck during the altercation.
Wheeler’s sister told police she recalled being “rowdy” and “play wrestling like John Cena” with Wheeler and another guest. The sister could not remember if she was pushed during the wrestling, but recalled having her 9-month-old daughter in her arms, police said.
Investigators wrote Wheeler’s sister also “displayed signs of extreme alcohol intoxication and was unable to provide a coherent account of the incident.”
Wheeler’s son, whose age is redacted from the report, told investigators he witnessed his father use one hand to forcefully push his mother, causing her to fall to the ground.
Wheeler out on bond
Wheeler posted a $3,000 surety bond Sunday and has a status check hearing on the filing of the criminal complaint scheduled for Sept. 2.
An attorney for Wheeler could not be reached for comment.
Metro said in a release on Tuesday that Wheeler has been employed since 2019. He was placed on suspension without pay until further notice.
Contact Casey Harrison at charrison@reviewjournal.com. Follow @Casey_Harrison1 on X.
