911 call released in officer arrest

A woman identifying herself as the ex-wife of Senior Officer Andrew “A.R.” Caruana told a 911 dispatcher that her bedroom was destroyed during the fight that led to Caruana being charged with assault, according to a recording of the call released Thursday.

Posted 12:27 a.m. Feb 27, 2009 — Updated 9:13 p.m. Mar 9, 2009

RALEIGH, N.C. — A woman saying she was the ex-wife of Raleigh Police Senior Officer Andrew “A.R.” Caruana told a 911 dispatcher that her bedroom was destroyed during a fight that led to Caruana's being charged with assault, according to a recording of the the call released Thursday.

At about 9:30 a.m. Tuesday, officers answered a call about a domestic-related disturbance in the 10800 block of Heather Meadow Lane at the Columns at Wakefield, an upscale apartment complex, police said.

During the 911 call, the woman told authorities her ex-husband – a Raleigh police officer – was assaulting a man at her apartment.

The woman said part of the fight occurred in the bedroom, where she said the window was broken and her bed was destroyed.

“Somebody went through the window … or fell into the window. The drywall’s broken,” she said during the call.

A young child can be heard in the background throughout the call. A man can also be heard in the background screaming expletives.

The woman told a 911 dispatcher that she and her son were hiding in the bathroom while the fight was taking place. At one point, she told the dispatcher that her ex-husband had kicked down the bathroom door. He later went outside, she said.

As a result of the investigation stemming from the 911 call, Caruana, 32, was taken into custody Tuesday evening at police headquarters, authorities said in a statement issued Wednesday.

Caruana was charged with assault, assault by pointing a gun and communicating threats and was transported to the Wake County jail.

Caruana was off duty at the time of the incident, and his department-issued weapon was not involved in the matter, Police Chief Harry Dolan said.

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