EDMONDS — State Child Protective Services workers plan to review a once-rejected complaint against Edmonds City Councilman David Orvis now that he is charged with assaulting his 13-year-old son during an argument over the boy’s homework.
Orvis, 41, was charged Monday with fourth-degree assault, a misdemeanor. The third-term councilman is accused of assaulting his son May 3 at their Edmonds home.
The boy told police Orvis dragged him by his hair and slammed his head into a desk after he complained about being too tired to finish his homework.
The boy reported the incident to authorities at his school who called Child Protective Services.
State caseworkers at the time declined to investigate the complaint because they didn’t believe the incident met the legal definition of abuse or neglect, said Sherry Hill, a spokeswoman for the state Department of Social and Health Services.
The complaint will be reviewed again in light of the criminal charge filed against Orvis, she said Tuesday. Orvis is scheduled to be arraigned Aug. 11.
Orvis explained Tuesday in a written statement that his family is cooperating and expect “this event to result in the strengthening of our family bonds.”
Orvis, a software engineer, wrote that he and his wife “care a great deal” for their son, who they adopted in 2003. He also explained that the boy continues to live with them and was not injured, Orvis wrote.
He and his wife are seeing a counselor and seeking therapy for their son, he wrote.
He also hired a homework tutor for his son to “help reduce tension in our family.” They are seeking additional training to learn how to better raise their son, Orvis wrote.
Police were made aware of the incident on May 12 after Orvis’ wife called to report that the boy hadn’t returned home from school. Edmonds police found the boy and asked him why he hadn’t gone home. The boy told police he was afraid of “being hurt again,” Snohomish County deputy prosecutor Matt Hunter wrote in charging papers filed in district court.
Officers later spoke with Orvis and confronted him with the allegations. Police reported that Orvis began to cry and said, “I only pulled his hair. I didn’t leave a mark,” Hunter wrote.
Police officers reported that later at the station Orvis wrote that he “flipped out.” He told police he threw the boy out of a chair, grabbed him by the hair, pulled him to the living room and made him get his calculator, court papers said. He said he then went outside to calm down.
Orvis said on Tuesday he doesn’t plan to give up his seat on the council.
Edmonds Mayor Gary Haakenson asked Orvis to resign in May when he learned of the incident.
“When I asked him to step down, I felt that it was the best thing for the council at the time,” Haakenson said. “They just didn’t need another distraction.”
Council President DJ Wilson also worries that the criminal charge against Orvis may be a distraction.
“I think councilman Orvis should take as much time away from the council as he needs,” Wilson said. “I think he should resign and spend more time with his family.”
Diana Hefley: 425-339-3463, hefley@heraldnet.com.
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