PORT ANGELES — A fourth-degree assault-domestic violence case in which a Clallam County Fire District No. 3 commission candidate said he was assaulted by his wife has been dismissed.
Sean Ryan, who faces appointee G. Michael Gawley in the Nov. 3 general election for Position 1, had alleged his wife, Sheila Frank, had slapped him “a few times” and tried to choke him during a July 15 marital dispute at their Port Angeles home, according to a county Sheriff’s Office report.
Clallam County District Court 1 Judge Rick Porter dismissed the charge Friday. It was dismissed without prejudice, meaning it can be refiled.
According to the sheriff’s report, there were two hangup calls to 9-1-1 from the residence at 9:38 p.m. and 9:42 p.m. July 15, after which Frank told authorities her phone had called dispatch “for unknown reasons.”
Ryan called 9-1-1 at 10:03 p.m. to say he had been assaulted, and a deputy was dispatched to the home, according to the report.
Ryan’s request that his protection order against Frank should be dropped was the subject of Friday’s hearing.
The domestic violence charge was dismissed at the request of the county Prosecuting Attorney’s Office, Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Michele Devlin said.
“Our family needs to heal,” Ryan said Friday.
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Senior Staff Writer Paul Gottlieb can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5060, or at pgottlieb@peninsuladailynews.com.