Aurora police sergeant arrested on domestic violence charges

An Aurora Police sergeant is currently facing misdemeanor assault charges after his intimate partner accused him of confiscating her phone during a domestic dispute, resulting in a physical altercation, according to police and court documents.

Aurora police were recently called to a southeast Aurora home at about 9 p.m. to investigate a report of domestic abuse, according to Aurora police and Arapahoe County Sheriff deputies.

“Upon arrival, officers determined the residence was associated with an Aurora Police Department employee and immediately requested the Arapahoe County Sheriff’s Office to assume the investigation as an outside agency,” Aurora police spokesperson Gabby Easterwood said in a statement.

When two deputies arrived, they interviewed Aurora Police Sgt. Matthew Schlauger, 36, and a woman investigators said was Schlauger’s intimate partner, both living at the address, according to an Arapahoe County court arrest affidavit.

When Schlauger arrived home that night, he and the woman started arguing about their relationship, Arapahoe County deputies reported.

“At one point, Schlauger took (the woman’s) phone from her and refused to give it back, ignoring multiple requests,” deputies said in the affidavit.

Schlauger however has denied confiscating her phone that night.

The argument between the two continued as they both went upstairs.

“While in the bedroom, a physical altercation took place where (the woman) elbowed Schlauger, causing his nose to bleed,” according to the affidavit.

Schlauger told police that the jab to the nose was inadvertent when the woman jumped on his back and he bent over to make her get off of him.

“When (the woman) was trying to leave the bedroom, Schlauger, still obtaining her phone, stood in the doorway to the bedroom and did not move,” investigators said in the affidavit. “Jones felt the need to slide by him and while doing so attempted to grab her phone but was unsuccessful.”

The woman headed for the stairs and Schlauger ran after her, police said.

“When at the base of the stairs, a struggle took place once again over Jones’s phone,” deputies said in the affidavit. “During the struggle, Schlauger grabbed Jones several times, twisting her left hand causing her pain and breaking several of her nails.”

Despite Schlauger insisting he never took the woman’s phone, deputies said details from the 911 call to police and physical evidence inside the home compelled them to insist on asking for charges and arresting Schlauger.

He was jailed and released on bond in lieu of $5,000, according to jail records.

Schlauger, on the APD force since 2016, is currently facing charges of third-degree assault, criminal tampering and domestic violence.

An internal investigation was initiated by the Aurora Police Department immediately following the incident and remains active and ongoing.