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Former US vice-presidential candidate and Alaska governor Sarah Palin (right) stands with members of her family including son Track (left), and Palin's husband Todd (second right). Photo: Reuters

Sarah Palin’s son arrested for domestic violence after fist-fight with father over handgun

Police say Track Palin, 28, smashed his way through a window to tackle his father, Todd, who was brandishing a handgun at the home of former US vice-presidential candidate

Track Palin, the oldest son of former Alaska governor Sarah Palin, was arrested Saturday night after an alleged domestic violence incident involving his parents in Wasilla, Alaska, according to court records. It was the second time in two years he has been arrested on charges related to domestic violence.

Court records show Track Palin, 28, was arraigned Sunday on charges of burglary, fourth-degree assault and criminal mischief for causing between US$250 and US$999 worth of property damage. There was no lawyer listed for him.

He remained in jail in nearby Palmer, Alaska, as of Monday afternoon.

A police affidavit obtained by KTVA News stated the incident took place at Sarah Palin’s Wasilla home around 8.30pm local time Saturday and indicated Track Palin’s father, Todd Palin, was the victim. Sarah Palin called police, saying her son was “freaking out and was on some type of medication”, the affidavit stated.
Former US vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin. Photo: Reuters
When Track arrived Todd decided that he was not going to shoot his son when Track came through the window
Police affidavit

As officers were en route, Track Palin reportedly broke a window to get inside the house and began assaulting his father, the affidavit stated. When police arrived, they found Track Palin moving in and out of the home, calling officers “peasants,” and at one point climbing to the roof through an upstairs window and lying down. After some time, police were able to detain Track Palin “without incident.”

Track Palin later told police there had been a disagreement over a vehicle, and that when he arrived at his parents’ house, he found his father pointing a gun at him through a window.

“Track stated he told Todd to shoot him several times,” the affidavit stated. “Track said Todd tapped the barrel of the gun on the window so he punched the window breaking the window. Track stated he then went through the broken window and disarmed Todd and put him on the ground.”

While on the ground, Track Palin punched his father repeatedly in the head, the affidavit said. Todd Palin later told police he armed himself with his pistol because his son had said on the phone he was coming over “to beat his ass”.

“When Track arrived Todd decided that he was not going to shoot his son when Track came through the window,” the affidavit stated. “Todd sustained injuries to his face and head in direct result of being hit by Track’s fists. Todd had blood from several cuts on his head and had liquid coming from his ear.”

In a statement to KTVA News Sunday, an lawyer for the Palin family asked for privacy: “Given the nature of actions addressed last night by law enforcement and the charges involved, the Palins are unable to comment further. They ask that the family’s privacy is respected during this challenging situation just as others dealing with a struggling family member would also request.”
Track Palin and sister Willow, who is holding their brother Trig, at the Republican National Convention in St Paul, Minnesota on September 3, 2008. Photo: TNS

Track Palin was previously arrested on domestic violence charges last year, after a fight with his girlfriend escalated until he allegedly threatened to shoot himself with an AR-15 rifle, police said.

Wasilla police had responded to a disturbance on January 18, 2016, at Sarah Palin’s home, where Track Palin lived with his parents, to find him agitated and hostile, and his girlfriend of one year hiding and crying underneath a bed.

Jordan Loewe, called 911 to say that Track had punched her in the face and that he had a firearm. Track also called 911, saying Loewe was drunk. When an officer arrived, he found Track outside, talking on the phone.

“I observed that the male had a visible injury to his right eye and the area around his eye,” Officer Andrew Kappler wrote. “His eyes were bloodshot and I detected a strong odour of alcohol on his breath and person. Upon contacting Palin, he was uncooperative, belligerent, and evasive with my initial line of questions.”
In this September 3, 2008, file photo, Republican vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin, right, holds her son Trig, as she is joined by her family on stage after her speech at the Republican National Convention in St Paul, Minnesota. From left are son, Track, daughter, Bristol and her boyfriend, Levi Johnston, daughters Willow and Piper and husband, Todd. Photo: AP

In the first incident, Track Palin was charged with assault, interfering with a domestic violence report and misconduct involving weapons, court records show.

His 2016 arrest came just one day before his mother was due to endorse then-Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump. At a campaign rally in Tulsa soon afterward, Sarah Palin blamed her son’s arrest to then-President Barack Obama, whom she accused of not respecting veterans.

“I guess it’s kind of the elephant in the room, because my own family going through what we’re going through today with my son, a combat vet … like so many others, they come back a bit different, they come back hardened,” Palin told the rally crowd in Tulsa. “It starts from the top. The question, though, it comes from our own president where they have to look at him and wonder, ‘Do you know what we go through? Do you know what we’re trying to do to secure America and to secure the freedoms that have been bequeathed us?’ ”

This article appeared in the South China Morning Post print edition as: Oldest son of Sarah Palin arrested again for violence
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