Clay Blanchard

Clay Blanchard was taken into custody on Monday morning.Authorities say he assaulted his wife on Sunday night.

The 56-year-old is charged with domestic assault causing injury, second-degree harassment and obstructing an emergency phone call.He has been taken to the Polk County Jail.

Blanchard is a senior police officer with the Des Moines Police Department and has been with the department for more than 20 years.

Officer Clay Blanchard's wife, Angela, later said it didn't happen, officials said.
...
Officer Clay Blanchard, 56, of Des Moines, was charged in late June with domestic assault causing injury, second-degree harassment and obstructing an emergency phone call. He was taken to the Polk County Jail.

Clay Blanchard was taken into custody on Monday morning.Authorities say he assaulted his wife on Sunday night.

The 56-year-old is charged with domestic assault causing injury, second-degree harassment and obstructing an emergency phone call.He has been taken to the Polk County Jail.

Blanchard is a senior police officer with the Des Moines Police Department and has been with the department for more than 20 years.

Senior Officer Clay Blanchard worked 1,010 hours of overtime, worth $40,667.Blanchard said he worked the extra hours for personal reasons and to make more money.Most of the time was spent at events and parades, and on patrol at a low-income housing complex and Birdland Park.

Blanchard said the extra shifts are relatively easy work, primarily traffic control, although he sometimes feels the drain of working extra hours because he primarily works the night shift.

"The human being isn't nocturnal by nature," he said.