Crestwood Cop Accused Of Battering Wife And Daughters

PORTAGE, IN — A Crestwood police officer is accused of battering his wife and two daughters while the family was vacationing in an Indiana campground, according to Portage, Ind. police. Dino Pavoni, 38, who resides in Midlothian, is facing felony charges of strangulation and domestic battery, and misdemeanor charge of interfering with reporting a crime. Police are also said to have confiscated a cache of weapons found in the trailer, including two Glocks, a Sig-Sauer, taser and a duty belt with three pairs of handcuffs.

Around 3 a.m. May 17 in the Lakeshore Camp Resort (formerly Yogi Bear’s Jellystone Park), 5300 Old Porter Road, police responded to a disturbance in a trailer. When officers arrived, a boy was standing outside in the rain, stating that his mother was inside the trailer laying on the floor and in need of help, police said. The girl told police that her father was still inside the trailer.

A man, later identified as Pavoni, came outside and stood with another officer. When the officer entered the trailer, he said Pavoni’s wife was sitting on the floor calling for help, saying she felt dizzy. The officer stayed with the woman until medics arrived. While waiting for the medics to arrive, she told police she had gotten into an argument with her husband when they were taking down the front awning of the trailer. She claimed her husband hit her several times before ending up on the floor, the report said. She also recalled one of her children recording the alleged altercation on a cell phone. Police said there was redness on the woman's neck.

As officers spoke with the three children outside, the daughter said she had recorded the “disturbance.” The officer examined the phone, which had three separate video clips. In the first clip, Pavoni’s wife was sitting on the bed with her husband standing near it yelling at her, police said. Throughout the video, police said Pavoni held a holstered gun. A child could be heard in the background yelled, “dad, please stop, please day, you are drunk,” police said.

According to the report, as Pavoni continued to hector in front of his wife as she held out a hand to distance herself from him, as Pavoni continued yelling at her. Police said Pavoni’s wife cold also be heard saying “get out of my face” and “get out” as he continued to block her. The woman shoved Pavoni until he fell backward and stumbled on to the floor, police said. The clip also captured Pavoni walking to where the children were recording. The daughter can be head yelling to “please stop” as he approached her, reports said.

The second clip continued from the last, with Pavoni holding his wife by the neck up against the wall and then slamming her to the floor, police said. She landed on the floor and appeared to be choking and gasping for air. According to the report, Pavoni walked over her back as she continued to lay on the floor in apparent distress.

The next clip, Pavoni could be seen holding on to his wife’s upper body, police said. He told the children that their mother was still breathing, according to the report. Another child screamed, “I don’t want her to die.” The daughter told her father, “she is not okay. You choked her,” police said. A few more moments passed by in the video with the daughter tending to her mother, when police arrived on the scene.

The officer who viewed the video went outside to advise Pavoni of his rights. Pavoni allegedly told police that his wife woke him upset about not being able to close the awning on the trailer. He claimed the two began to argue when she started attacking him, police said. When confronted about the video on which the officer told him he is seen choking and hitting his wife, police said he again denied hitting her. He allegedly refused to speak further about the incident. Pavoni appeared drunk, with slurred speech and exuding an odor of alcohol, the report said.

Pavoni’s wife was being treated by medics when the officer went back into the trailer. She appeared alert and oriented compared to how she had been earlier, the officer said. She described waking up her husband up and asked him to help her with awning. He became angry and began yelling at her, the report said. She was aware of a video on the phone and showed it to the officer. The video captured the two of them outside. She got upset when her husband started yanking the awning, police said. Another child in the family called 911. The report also noted Pavoni was also seen allegedly shoving one of his daughters into a wall and slamming a door on his second daughter’s arm.

Pavoni was placed into handcuffs and taken to the Portage police station. The children were brought back into the trailer with her mother. When police told her that her husband was in custody, she told them numerous weapons were inside the trailer, the report said. His wife told officers there were numerous guns in the trailer.

Mayor Lou Presta said that the officer was placed on administrative leave. Pavonis is reportedly using accumulated days off. Crestwood police have also launched an internal investigation.

“Right now we’re thinking of his wife and kids,” Presta said. “I’m sure there is more to come.”