Man assaults police officer who he believed is his wife’s lover

Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — On December 21, 2024, an off duty officer reported an incident to the Tafuna Police Substation (TPS) that involved a male police officer who was allegedly assaulted by a female officer’s husband.

The suspect was arrested and charged with:

Count 1: Public Peace Disturbance, a class B misdemeanor punishable by imprisonment for up to six months, a fine of $500, or both;

Count 2: Assault in the Third Degree ( As a C Misd.), a class C misdemeanor punishable by imprisonment for up to fifteen days, a fine of $300, or both; and,

Count 3: Property Damage in the Third Degree, a class B misdemeanor punishable by imprisonment for up to six months, a fine of $500, or both.

The defendant’s bail was set at $2,000.

According to the court affidavit, on Dec. 21st, a female individual (later identified as the reporter) contacted the TPS to report that a male individual known as Leisale Polevia assaulted another male (victim). The affidavit also indicated that both the reporter and victim were off-duty officers.

Police officers responded to the call and upon arrival they were waved down by several bystanders who stated there was an incident that they had witnessed.

The officers made contact with the victim and he confirmed Polevia as the aggressor. The officers proceeded to locate the suspect, arriving at his house, where he approached the police unit.

They apprehended the suspect and placed him inside the police unit to be transported to the police station for investigation.

Upon arrival at the TPS, the officers conducted a thorough investigation, beginning with interviewing the victim. The victim stated that on his way to pick up a co-worker (who is also an off-duty officer), the suspect threw a cone in front of the road blocking his car. The victim brought his car to a complete halt and pointed to the suspect to remove the cone. Instead of removing the cone that was blocking his vehicle, the suspect made his way towards the driver’s side and punched his vehicle causing a dent in the rear of the vehicle. More over, before he could get out, his co-worker intervened by wrapping the suspect around her arms and leading the suspect away from the victim’s car.

The victim claimed that he didn’t know that the suspect was his co-worker’s husband. He explained that he was trying to figure out what was happening and why someone would do such a thing. As he got close to his co-worker and the suspect, the suspect grabbed him by the collar of his shirt and pulled him in. He saw his co-worker fall down and that’s when he scuffled with the suspect.

His co-worker got back up and held her husband back and told him to leave and go pick up another co-worker of theirs (reporter).

According to the suspect’s wife, she and her husband had a small altercation before heading to work. When the victim called her that he was on his way, the suspect must have heard it and then started walking towards the road. When she walked up to the road, she saw her husband standing in front of the victim’s car with a cone in his hand. She hurriedly walked towards her husband as he was making his way to the victim’s side. She grabbed her husband and pulled him back from the victim’s car. She also mentioned that she noticed the victim walking towards them so she advised him to go and pick up their other co-worker.

Moreover, she explained that the victim didn’t listen and got closer which led to him scuffling with the suspect. As she was trying to separate the victim and her husband, they fell down to the ground. The victim had the advantage because he was on top of the suspect, so he pinned her husband down. Furthermore, she stated that she made several attempts to tell the victim to back off and leave but she claimed maybe the victim didn’t know that the suspect was her husband and she could ease the situation.

She also mentioned that if it weren’t for the bystanders that intervened and separated the two, the victim wouldn’t have left to pick up their co-worker.

The reporter was also interviewed and she stated that she wasn’t present during the incident. The victim picked her up, she noticed that he was in distress and was panicking telling her to hurry up. When she asked him what had happened, the victim stated he got into a fight with their co-worker’s husband.

As they headed back to pick up the suspect’s wife, they saw the suspect throwing a large rock at the vehicle. The victim then reversed and went in front of a nearby store to wait for their co-worker and that’s when she contacted the police.

The suspect was Mirandized and provided a verbal and written statement.

The suspect stated that his argument with his wife got heated so he just left and started walking towards the main road. When he got to the main road, he held a cone and threw it on the road not knowing that the victim’s car was approaching. The car stopped and he noticed the driver pointing towards the cone and was telling him to remove it. He then looked inside the vehicle and noticed a police uniform and that’s when he knew it was the victim in the car. 

The suspect claimed that he had assumed that there was something going on between his wife and the victim and he got angry.

The suspect continued that when he got to the driver’s side, he punched the car and tried to open the door to get the victim out. He was pushed back by his wife but noticed the victim walking towards them. He saw the victim was getting close so he grabbed him by the collar of his shirt and pulled him in. They started shoving each other back and forth until they fell to the ground and the victim landed on top of him.

They scuffled for a few minutes before it was broken up by several bystanders. He went back with his wife and continued their argument.

When the suspect was questioned about his intentions to assault the victim, he stated that he had mixed thoughts when he saw the victim coming to pick up his wife in his private vehicle. The suspect also mentioned that all he wanted to do was to get his hands on the victim. The suspect denied throwing a rock at the vehicle when the victim returned.

The suspect was booked and confined at the Tafuna Correctional Facility to await the next available sitting of the District Court.

The defendant is identified as a 35-year-old citizen of Samoa.