Asotin County deputy’s assault charges dismissed

ASOTIN — Criminal assault charges against an Asotin County deputy accused of using excessive force have been dismissed without prejudice by the Columbia County prosecutor.

Deputy Michael C. Babino is still employed by the Asotin County Sheriff’s Office, but he is no longer on patrol. His criminal case stems from a 2022 incident at TriState Health where he was involved in a DUI arrest and subsequently charged with fourth-degree assault.

Following the incident, the alleged victim, whose name was not released, was awarded a $95,000 settlement in a related civil suit against Asotin County.

According to court documents, Babino allegedly shoved a woman into his patrol car and later grabbed her by the throat and slammed her head into a door at the hospital.

After the alleged incident, Pullman police completed an investigation at the request of the Asotin County Sheriff’s Office and forwarded two recommended charges of fourth-degree assault to the county prosecutor. The case was then sent to another jurisdiction for a charging decision.

Columbia County Prosecutor Dale Slack filed the criminal fourth-degree assault charges after reviewing the investigative reports from Pullman.

Slack said the recent dismissal was “without prejudice,” which means the case can be refiled. Getting the alleged victim to testify in court is the only holdup.

“Initially, our contact with the victim in the case was through her civil attorneys — since she was represented by counsel, ethically I had to go through her attorneys to contact her,” Slack said in an email Wednesday. “I was unaware until a few months ago that the civil case had settled, and so with some information from her previous civil attorneys, we started to look for her to schedule pretrial interviews and preparatory meetings for trial.”

Authorities were unable to find her in Washington, though they had some information about her possible whereabouts, Slack said. “By the time we located her new contact information in that other state, she had moved again.”

Babino, who has worked in law enforcement for more than 24 years, denied any wrongdoing when interviewed by investigators. The deputy said he was reacting to the woman’s noncompliance and attempts to assault him.

Videos from Babino’s body camera of the incident appear to show him pushing a 32-year-old woman into a door by her neck, and a loud thud was reportedly heard by witnesses when her head made contact. She was at the hospital with three deputies for a blood draw related to a DUI investigation when the alleged incident occurred.

The shove into the patrol vehicle and neck grab at the hospital lab were unnecessary, Pullman police concluded.

“The investigating officers from Pullman Police Department were exceptionally helpful,” Slack said. “I asked them to help us, and as we were getting closer and closer to the trial date, they put in extra work to locate her. With only days left to decide whether the trial was going to go forward or not, they located the victim and gave her a message to contact my office. I did not receive any contact back by the time the pretrial readiness hearing was held, and had to make the decision not to go forward with trial.”

Fourth-degree assault is a gross misdemeanor, which carries a maximum penalty of 364 days in jail and a $5,000 fine. If the charges are refiled, a trial would be conducted in District Court.

“In my experience, juries are hesitant to convict in cases where no victim testifies,” Slack said, “whether because they see the absence of the victim as a lack of real impact of the crime, or because they have reasonable doubt if a victim is not present. I get one shot at conviction, so I don’t want to present anything less than a complete case.”

Last year, the woman filed a civil complaint against Asotin County and was awarded a $95,000 settlement, according to county documents.

Sandaine can be reached at kerris@lmtribune.com.