O'FALLON, Mo. — A North County Police Cooperative officer is on administrative leave after being accused of beating and choking his ex-girlfriend to the point she thought she was going to die, according to court documents released Thursday afternoon. At one point, their young child witnessed some of the violence, a detective reported.
Matthew Pyle Jr. has been charged with second-degree domestic assault. He’s being held on a $25,000 bond, 10% of that amount is not allowed.
The 23-year-old woman told detectives that back in June Pyle showed up at her house in O’Fallon, Missouri. She said he was drunk and started an argument after Pyle noticed she was talking with another man.
She said Pyle told her he wanted her to kill herself with his gun. According to the court filing, the argument escalated into a physical fight, where she was punched several times in the head, thrown to the ground and choked to the point she started to lose consciousness.
The woman told a detective while Pyle was choking her, she thought she was going to die. She also said she didn’t report the incident right away because she thought he would kill her.
O’Fallon police department detectives said evidence inside her home backs up her story.
They also said the woman’s and Pyle’s 5-year-old child witnessed some of the assault, and during an interview with the little girl, she said she saw her father punching her mom in the head and the heart.
During a police interview, Pyle admitted that there was an argument and fight, but stated the woman was drunk and he was not. He said his ex-girlfriend pushed him out of the house and that he did not physically assault her, even in self-defense. He said the woman “was not assaulted” when he left her house that night.
According to police, shortly after Pyle’s interview with them, the woman’s cell phone was remotely factory reset.
The investigation led police to the mothers of Pyle and the woman. Pyle’s mother texted the woman’s mother apologizing for the incident, police said. According to the probable cause statement, Pyle’s mother admitted via text message to the woman’s mother that Pyle turned off her cell phone because he was angry.
She also said Pyle agreed to quit drinking and that he was going to get help.
Pyle’s employer, the North County Police Cooperative, released the following statement after charges were filed Thursday:
‘We are aware of the allegations against Officer Pyle that occurred off-duty and not in the capacity of a police officer. Our organization has cooperated fully with the investigation. Pyle has been placed on administrative leave.’
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