A former Oklahoma County Sheriff's Corporal charged with felony domestic violence has resigned his position with the Sheriff's Office in light of the allegations against him.
Former Cpl. Jason Lee Ledford, 40, of Oklahoma City, is accused of abusing and choking his girlfriend in the early morning hours of July 26.
Oklahoma City police responded to the scene after a neighbor called around 4:15 a.m. to report screaming. When they arrived, Ledford's girlfriend said that she and her boyfriend had gone out drinking to celebrate her birthday. After they returned to their apartment, they began arguing.
The woman said that Ledford dragged her by the hair into a bedroom, sat on her to restrain her arms, and choked her until she lost consciousness. She says during the alleged assault, she kicked and punched him in self-defense.
Ledford was not arrested at the scene, but was suspended with pay pending the investigation. His accuser filed a protective order against him in late July, but later dismissed the order at a hearing in August.
Now that the man has been formally charged with one count of domestic abuse by strangulation, he has resigned from the Sheriff's department, where he has served since 1998.
In most cases, a first offense of domestic assault and battery is a misdemeanor. However, the charge can quickly elevate to a felony.
Domestic abuse by strangulation is defined as a felony in 21 O.S. § 644 (J). Under this law, it is not necessary to choke someone to unconsciousness in order to be charged with domestic abuse by strangulation, but only to place pressure upon the neck in such a way to restrict airflow:
Any person who commits any assault and battery with intent to cause great bodily harm by strangulation or attempted strangulation against a current or former spouse, a present spouse of a former spouse, a former spouse of a present spouse, parents, a foster parent, a child, a person otherwise related by blood or marriage, a person with whom the defendant is or was in a dating relationship as defined by Section 60.1 of Title 22 of the Oklahoma Statutes, an individual with whom the defendant has had a child, a person who formerly lived in the same household as the defendant, or a person living in the same household as the defendant shall, upon conviction, be guilty of domestic abuse by strangulation and shall be punished by imprisonment in the custody of the Department of Corrections for a period of not less than one (1) year nor more than three (3) years, or by a fine of not more than Three Thousand Dollars ($3,000.00), or by both such fine and imprisonment. Upon a second or subsequent conviction for a violation of this section, the defendant shall be punished by imprisonment in the custody of the Department of Corrections for a period of not less than three (3) years nor more than ten (10) years, or by a fine of not more than Twenty Thousand Dollars ($20,000.00), or by both such fine and imprisonment. The provisions of Section 51.1 of this title shall apply to any second or subsequent conviction of a violation of this subsection. As used in this subsection, "strangulation" means any form of asphyxia; including, but not limited to, asphyxia characterized by closure of the blood vessels or air passages of the neck as a result of external pressure on the neck or the closure of the nostrils or mouth as a result of external pressure on the head.
Even as a first offense, domestic abuse by strangulation is punishable by 1 to 3 years in prison; a subsequent offense carries 3 to 10 years in prison.
Domestic violence can occur anywhere. It is not confined by economic demographic, educational status, race, or any other factor. While the NFL is recently getting a bad rap for high rates of domestic violence after its handling of the Ray Rice case, many people say the focus on the NFL is misguided, and that rates of domestic violence in the league are not higher than the national average. However, research seems to indicate that there is one group that is particularly prone to domestic assault and battery: law enforcement. Studies show that domestic violence rates among law enforcement are 2 to 4 times greater than the national average.
