Man Accused in Douma Brawl Speaks Out
OTTUMWA - A brawl that occurred at Pickwick Park, adjacent to Douma School, on October 17, resulted in criminal charges against four members of one family. Travis Reinier, 36, his wife Shawnna Bleything and two of Reinier's children have been charged with assault while no one else involved in the melee was charged.
Reinier told The Post that he believes the one-sided charges are based on a pre-existing bias the Ottumwa Police Department holds against his family.
“I could see them charging everyone or charging no one,” said Reinier, “but this just isn’t fair.”
Reinier explained his version of the events that sent him to Ottumwa Regional Health Center with a deep gash on his chin.
He said that he and his wife were responding to a call from their children asking for help.
“My goal was just to get my kids and get out,” said Reinier, “When I got there, I saw my kids being chased. I got out of the car and that is when [the male juvenile] came at me.”
Reinier claims his daughter’s sixteen-year-old ex-boyfriend began screaming in his face and then head butted Reinier, knocking him to the ground.
Reinier admitted to wrestling with the male juvenile at that point, but said he was not faring well.
“I’ve been out of work since April with injuries to my shoulders and hands. I sure as heck didn’t show up looking to scrap. Heck, even when I was healthy, I’ve taken a lot more whoopings than I’ve dished out,” said Reinier.
Reinier said that at this point, his wife attempted to pull the male juvenile off of her husband and eventually succeeded. “I was taking a pretty good beating,” said Reinier. He claims that when he got back to his feet, his intentions were simply to get his family in the car and leave the scene. However, before he could leave, he claims another man entered the scene, striking him in the chin and knocking him unconscious.
“The guy spoke briefly to [the male juvenile] and then he and [the male juvenile] both came at me. He was yelling, ‘You’re [expletive]! You’re [expletive]!’ Not exactly the good Samaritan he was made out to be,” said Reinier.
Lieutenant Jason Bell of the Ottumwa Police Department says Reinier’s version of the event just does not line up with the investigation.“His account just isn’t consistent with what the other witnesses told us,” said Lt. Bell. Wapello County Attorney Gary Oldenburger admitted it is common for the opposing sides of a fight, such as this, to have conflicting statements. “It really comes down to credibility,” said Oldenburger. “We believe Travis [Reinier] was the aggressor in the altercation.”
Oldenburger went on to explain that when an adult is in a conflict with a juvenile, the credibility of the adult often comes into question.
As for the party who struck Reinier in the chin, authorities believe he was simply acting to protect the male juvenile from another Reinier attack.
Reinier says he understands that it would be difficult for the authorities to know exactly what happened at the scene. “I was in and out of consciousness and soaked in my own blood when they arrived,” he said, “but they were never going to consider me the victim.”
Reinier says that previous run-ins he and his family have had with law enforcement, including a recent complaint he filed against one officer for use of excessive force, led to the unfair handling of this case.
“I called in to give a statement and Sgt. Aljets said it wouldn’t be necessary,” he said, “Aljets told me my family would be charged and he wouldn’t be charging anyone else.”
Both Lt. Bell of the OPD and Wapello County Attorney Gary Oldenburger told The Post that they had already taken a statement from Reinier and it did not match the story he is telling now.
Reinier addressed that claim by saying, “They apparently took my statement at the emergency room. I had lost a lot of blood and was in and out of consciousness at that time. That’s all they needed from me? I had more information they weren’t even willing to listen to. They didn’t even take statements from my kids.”
Lt. Bell insisted that the OPD operated without bias in this case.
“We did as thorough an investigation as we would in any case of this type,” said Bell.
Reinier will get to make his arguments in front of a Judge. A trial date has not yet been set.
Previous Coverage
OTTUMWA – Police units responded near Douma Elementary School after an assault occurred, Saturday afternoon. According to Ottumwa Police Sergeant Noah Aljets, a group of juveniles were at Pickwick Park, located next to Douma Elementary. Police are still working to confirm what occurred.
“There was an altercation involving adults and juvenile kids and during the altercation another adult saw what was going on and didn’t like what they saw the adult do to the juveniles and came over and assaulted the adult,” said Sgt. Aljets.
Two individuals were assaulted during the altercation, a juvenile male who is approximately 16-years-old and an adult male.
“The adult who got punched, his kids were here along with others. Those kids kind of started things with other kids and then they called their parents saying that they were getting picked on and so the parents showed up and this is how this all started,” said Sgt. Aljets.
One of the parents was allegedly assaulting a juvenile male when a passerby decided to step in to protect the juvenile.
“It sounds like maybe one punch to the chin… the adult has a gash on his chin” said Sgt. Aljets.
When witnesses called police, they reported the assault as a stabbing. However, Aljets told The Post that there is no evidence that corroborates that account.
The assaulted adult chose to be taken to the hospital by ambulance, but it expected to make a full recovery. The juvenile male initially refused medical treatment, but his parents requested that he be taken to the hospital due to an apparent head injury.
The male who allegedly punched the adult left the scene before police arrive. Police are told that he is Hispanic. Officers attempted to locate the man, but were unsuccessful.
“At this point we just want to talk to the individual and know what they saw before they assaulted the adult,” said Sgt. Aljets.
The adult male, who was punched, could face charges in relation to allegedly assaulting the juvenile.
Sgt. Aljets added that parents and passersby should always try to call the police before taking matters into their own hands.
“If your kids calls you and tells you that they are being bullied, call us before you go. That way we can respond to the scene and serve as a mediator before something bad happens,” said Sgt. Aljets. “It is a simple fix for us to find out what is going on and to separate people as opposed to parents taking it into their own hands… it can prevent people from getting hurt.”
However, Aljets added that not all situations give people that option and stated that helping to protect a juvenile is also important.
OTTUMWA - A brawl that occurred at Pickwick Park, adjacent to Douma School, on October 17, resulted in criminal charges against four members of one family. Travis Reinier, 36, his wife Shawnna Bleything and two of Reinier's children have been charged with assault while no one else involved in the melee was charged.
Reinier told The Post that he believes the one-sided charges are based on a pre-existing bias the Ottumwa Police Department holds against his family.
“I could see them charging everyone or charging no one,” said Reinier, “but this just isn’t fair.”
Reinier explained his version of the events that sent him to Ottumwa Regional Health Center with a deep gash on his chin.
He said that he and his wife were responding to a call from their children asking for help.
“My goal was just to get my kids and get out,” said Reinier, “When I got there, I saw my kids being chased. I got out of the car and that is when [the male juvenile] came at me.”
Reinier claims his daughter’s sixteen-year-old ex-boyfriend began screaming in his face and then head butted Reinier, knocking him to the ground.
Reinier admitted to wrestling with the male juvenile at that point, but said he was not faring well.
“I’ve been out of work since April with injuries to my shoulders and hands. I sure as heck didn’t show up looking to scrap. Heck, even when I was healthy, I’ve taken a lot more whoopings than I’ve dished out,” said Reinier.
Reinier said that at this point, his wife attempted to pull the male juvenile off of her husband and eventually succeeded. “I was taking a pretty good beating,” said Reinier. He claims that when he got back to his feet, his intentions were simply to get his family in the car and leave the scene. However, before he could leave, he claims another man entered the scene, striking him in the chin and knocking him unconscious.
“The guy spoke briefly to [the male juvenile] and then he and [the male juvenile] both came at me. He was yelling, ‘You’re [expletive]! You’re [expletive]!’ Not exactly the good Samaritan he was made out to be,” said Reinier.
Lieutenant Jason Bell of the Ottumwa Police Department says Reinier’s version of the event just does not line up with the investigation.“His account just isn’t consistent with what the other witnesses told us,” said Lt. Bell. Wapello County Attorney Gary Oldenburger admitted it is common for the opposing sides of a fight, such as this, to have conflicting statements. “It really comes down to credibility,” said Oldenburger. “We believe Travis [Reinier] was the aggressor in the altercation.”
Oldenburger went on to explain that when an adult is in a conflict with a juvenile, the credibility of the adult often comes into question.
As for the party who struck Reinier in the chin, authorities believe he was simply acting to protect the male juvenile from another Reinier attack.
Reinier says he understands that it would be difficult for the authorities to know exactly what happened at the scene. “I was in and out of consciousness and soaked in my own blood when they arrived,” he said, “but they were never going to consider me the victim.”
Reinier says that previous run-ins he and his family have had with law enforcement, including a recent complaint he filed against one officer for use of excessive force, led to the unfair handling of this case.
“I called in to give a statement and Sgt. Aljets said it wouldn’t be necessary,” he said, “Aljets told me my family would be charged and he wouldn’t be charging anyone else.”
Both Lt. Bell of the OPD and Wapello County Attorney Gary Oldenburger told The Post that they had already taken a statement from Reinier and it did not match the story he is telling now.
Reinier addressed that claim by saying, “They apparently took my statement at the emergency room. I had lost a lot of blood and was in and out of consciousness at that time. That’s all they needed from me? I had more information they weren’t even willing to listen to. They didn’t even take statements from my kids.”
Lt. Bell insisted that the OPD operated without bias in this case.
“We did as thorough an investigation as we would in any case of this type,” said Bell.
Reinier will get to make his arguments in front of a Judge. A trial date has not yet been set.
Previous Coverage
OTTUMWA – Police units responded near Douma Elementary School after an assault occurred, Saturday afternoon. According to Ottumwa Police Sergeant Noah Aljets, a group of juveniles were at Pickwick Park, located next to Douma Elementary. Police are still working to confirm what occurred.
“There was an altercation involving adults and juvenile kids and during the altercation another adult saw what was going on and didn’t like what they saw the adult do to the juveniles and came over and assaulted the adult,” said Sgt. Aljets.
Two individuals were assaulted during the altercation, a juvenile male who is approximately 16-years-old and an adult male.
“The adult who got punched, his kids were here along with others. Those kids kind of started things with other kids and then they called their parents saying that they were getting picked on and so the parents showed up and this is how this all started,” said Sgt. Aljets.
One of the parents was allegedly assaulting a juvenile male when a passerby decided to step in to protect the juvenile.
“It sounds like maybe one punch to the chin… the adult has a gash on his chin” said Sgt. Aljets.
When witnesses called police, they reported the assault as a stabbing. However, Aljets told The Post that there is no evidence that corroborates that account.
The assaulted adult chose to be taken to the hospital by ambulance, but it expected to make a full recovery. The juvenile male initially refused medical treatment, but his parents requested that he be taken to the hospital due to an apparent head injury.
The male who allegedly punched the adult left the scene before police arrive. Police are told that he is Hispanic. Officers attempted to locate the man, but were unsuccessful.
“At this point we just want to talk to the individual and know what they saw before they assaulted the adult,” said Sgt. Aljets.
The adult male, who was punched, could face charges in relation to allegedly assaulting the juvenile.
Sgt. Aljets added that parents and passersby should always try to call the police before taking matters into their own hands.
“If your kids calls you and tells you that they are being bullied, call us before you go. That way we can respond to the scene and serve as a mediator before something bad happens,” said Sgt. Aljets. “It is a simple fix for us to find out what is going on and to separate people as opposed to parents taking it into their own hands… it can prevent people from getting hurt.”
However, Aljets added that not all situations give people that option and stated that helping to protect a juvenile is also important.
