Florida Congressman Cory Mills is under a criminal investigation for assaulting a female in a penthouse luxury apartment in Washington, D.C. He’s also reported to have told the victim to lie about where her bruises came from.
Mills claims he’s completely innocent of the charges and welcomes an investigation.
In a twist, the DC police are also investigating themselves over the way they handled the initial complaint.
Here’s the news:
Here’s more:
Police reports obtained by News4 show the alleged incident started at a penthouse in a luxury apartment building in The Wharf area of Southwest at 1 p.m. Wednesday.
Mills’ office told NBC News: “This week, law enforcement was asked to resolve a private matter at Congressman Mills’ residence. Congressman Mills vehemently denies any wrongdoing whatsoever, and is confident any investigation will clear this matter quickly.”
The I-Team also reached out Thursday afternoon to the alleged victim, who we’re not naming, but who is not the congressman’s wife. In text messages she said: “Yesterday, I contacted law enforcement to address a personal matter… Although the argument was emotionally charged, there was no physical abuse involved.”
She said bruises were from medical conditions and activities from a recent overseas trip.
News4 obtained multiple copies of the police report, showing varying levels of detail about what allegedly happened inside the apartment and when police arrived.
The first police report, provided to News4 by a source and confirmed by a second source familiar with the investigation, said: “(Her significant other for over a year) grabbed her, shoved her, and pushed her out of the door.” The report says she showed the officer “bruises on her arm which appeared fresh.”
The first report goes on to note that during a phone call between the significant other and alleged victim, she “let officers hear Subject 1 [now identified by MPD as Mills] instruct her to lie about the origin of her bruises … Eventually, Subject 1 made contact with police and admitted that the situation escalated from verbal to physical, but it was severe enough to create bruising.”
When police arrived, the woman was in the lobby of the Salamander hotel next door. The report says an officer was “able to immediately identify [the alleged victim] out of all other patrons in the lobby by her demeanor: physically shaking and scared.”
According to the report, the responding police officer told the subject he would be placed under arrest. But then the woman approached police and recanted the details, including where the bruises came from. News4 reached out to the responding officer but has not heard back.
D.C. law says officers shall arrest someone if there is probable cause to believe they committed an intrafamily offense resulting in physical injury, including pain.
A second version of the police report obtained by News4 a day after the alleged incident says only that officers responded for a family disturbance and there was no probable cause for an arrest.
When News4 reached out to D.C. police for comment, they provided a third version of the report Thursday night, which had changed once again, saying officers responded for a report of an assault and that the assault is being investigated.
D.C. police told News4 the focus of the internal investigation is why officers made no arrest and why the incident was reclassified as a family disturbance and not an assault.
In a statement, the department told News4, “Once MPD leadership became aware of this matter there was an immediate review of our initial response to ensure all procedures were followed. MPD’s Internal Affairs Bureau is currently investigating this matter.”
D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser told News4 an internal investigation is underway into “making sure that all of our members did what they’re supposed to do, according to MPD policy.” She said she couldn’t immediately comment on the investigation into Mills or the police reports.