COLORADO: Councilor-Elect Brainard Issues New Statement on Domestic Violence Case
GRAND JUNCTION, Colo.- A Grand Junction city councilor-elect is speaking out again, after being the target of criticism for an alleged domestic violence incident this month.
Rick Brainard issued a new personal statement in which he offers apologies and details regarding the controversy.
In the three-page statement, Brainard says tensions rose with girlfriend Cindy Franzen when she became upset over his random interactions with women during an election night gathering at the Blue Moon Bar & Grille, during which he described Franzen getting “…madder by the minute.”
Although he went to Florida the next day, the friction continued upon his return to Grand Junction. Brainard says Franzen eventually flew into a rage, during which he says he was “…no longer processing beyond wanting it to stop at that point.”
Brainard’s statement adds that he, “felt he had tried everything he knew to do to calm her rage, begging her to ‘shut her mouth and stop it,’ before he slapped her and fled his home.”
In the statement, he apologizes to Franzen, his mother, friends and supporters for his behavior.
He also says he’s not withdrawing from his city council seat, unless the voters through a legal petition process make that decision for him.
NewsChannel 5 contacted Franzen for response to Brainard’s comments. She says she trusts the justice system and will let the court decide.
A COPY OF BRAINARD’S NEW STATEMENT IS BELOW:
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